


The Right to Bare Fangs

by ImaginaryEngineer2 (TyrantorX)



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Bye Akko, F/F, This has consumed all my blood and soul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-03-14 14:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 50,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13592367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyrantorX/pseuds/ImaginaryEngineer2
Summary: Everyone's graduating year experience can be summarized with three words: braver, stronger and smarter. Akko's not an exception. But her journey doesn't end without going through fire, nature and a whole lot of the real world catching up to her and her misfortunes. (1st person, Akko POV)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> LWAGang at 18YO.  
> Akko (1st person POV)  
> Sorta AU, OOCness (with Akko) with some additional stuff to Trigger's Magical World. 
> 
> A/N: This work has been in the making for a long time. Any type of feedback is highly appreciated. I’m also mentioning that I've aged up everyone by 2 years, just in case you didn't catch this in the summary.  
> As for updates, we'll see how consistent I can go. I'm estimating at a 1 to 2-week interval per chapter.
> 
> Oh, shoutout to **omaomae/bittertomato** for being that constant rock and consult throughout this story so far. Real MVP right there. Thank you so much.

This year.

Finally, all those hours of study and practice isn’t going to go to waste. It’ll just be another year before I go up that stage, receive my diploma and take my first steps into this dream that I've always fought for ever since I was a little girl.

_To be the next Shiny Chariot!_

Who knew that two years would fly by so fast? I've spent two years of my life learning the ropes of Magic itself in the best Magic school the whole world has to offer! I was referring to Luna Nova, just in case you didn't know. It's the same school that Chariot attended back in her student days. And if I wanna be just like her, this was the right decision to begin with! 

Entering the Academy wasn't easy at first. No one expected someone from a non-magical background to be accepted into the Luna Nova especially since it's _prestigious_ as they say _._  During the past 2 years I've been studying here, everyone else, from the faculty to the students, didn't like the idea of it. Constantly reminding me that don't have magic in my blood; even going as far as to point out that I don't have any magical powers—despite that fact that I've proven them wrong _again and again_.

To set the records straight; I _did_ have magical abilities, just like any regular, ol' witch! But I lost them because of an unlucky accident. I’m slowly gaining it back through hard work and dedication. Although I'm still not as strong and as great as Shiny Chariot herself, I’m slowly getting there.

And it's this year that I'm going to make sure that I graduate. It’s the first step I need to start my journey in inspiring people around the globe with my magic.

_Exactly like her._

Keeping up with the lessons at school is pretty tough, even though _Shiny Chariot_ herself is the one that’s supporting me along the way. Getting good grades is tough, especially if you're me. But I'm not going to let that bring me down! 

Except, for one thing. Two years of non-stop studying and dedicating so much time in becoming a better witch, I was starting to fall behind. My body was starting to fail on me. My technique were getting sloppier and it took so much more time to master spells and enchantments compared to before.

And as much as I loved magic, all of that time was catching up to me. Chariot did mention something about burning out. That seemed like something like a myth. I didn't want to believe her at first.

I rushed over to her room after my finals that day. I needed to tell her that I wasn’t going home. If she took me in as an apprentice to help her during the break, there's this chance that I would get my groove back! I'm sure that it's my one way ticket out of this slump. There's no way she'd say no to me now! This is hard core dedication! And she's always been so supportive of me!

So, you could imagine the shock that I got when she politely told me no.

“You’ve been working hard, Akko. Your progress is amazing but you have to make sure to wind down once in a while."

I laughed it off at first. Why she was so against it? This idea was good! I'd be better after summer! “But you didn’t really take a break! And I really want to be like you. Taking a break now would set me back so much! I’ve got a lot to catch up on!”

She placed her hand on my head, ruffling my hair as she closed her eyes. “I understand where you’re coming from but it wouldn’t. Take it from me, focus on the other important things in your life. Magic’s always going to be here,” she paused, smiling at me gently.  “I’m always going to be here.”

I gave her a small, disappointing smile as a reply. She understood me fast enough to stop me from going on another barrage of comments as to why staying in school would benefit the both of us more than me going home.

“Don’t worry Akko. You’re not going to miss out on progress and you’re still on your way to become an amazing witch. We’ll pick up exactly where we left off. Now, go have fun! Spend time with your family! It’s the summer anyway.”

Now that I do think back to it, the idea was crazy. I didn't want to take a break from school. And even if it was Shiny Chariot herself that told me that winding down would be the perfect solution to burning out, I wasn’t excited. My chest dropped the last bell of the school year rang. Luna Nova was a place that I didn't want to leave, especially since there wasn't going to be magic back home.

But if Chariot said I needed a break, I had to take her word for it.

And I'm glad I did. _Because she was absolutely right_.

That knock on my front door after a long flight from West Britain was relieving. I couldn't believe that not seeing my parents for another year would still make me miss them just as much as the year before. I missed my mom's cooking. I missed my dad's driving. And, I hate to say it but, I really missed their bickering.

They didn't waste any time. Knowing that I was only with them for a few months made them plan the entire vacation without even consulting me—not that I minded, I wouldn't have helped them with anything. We went around Japan, visited some relatives on the other side of the city and some did _tourist-y_ things at tourist locations. We did go on trips to the amusement parks, went shopping, which was my Okaa-sans' favorite pastime, and food trips, which was my Otou-san's favorite pastime. We did have little rest days in between stops and during those little breaks, I'd drop a call to a few of my friends.

Summer went by quick because of the full schedule. Before I knew it, I only had a few days left of my summer vacation.

They've exhausted all of their vacation leaves on me, but it still wasn't enough to cover for my entire summer break. As much as they did want to spend more time, they still had to go back to work. So, for the last few days of my summer vacation, I get to spend it with my Obaa-san in the outskirts of Hokkaido.

I know it's been _so long_  since I've last seen her. She always asked me to drop by before but I never got the chance. I never expected to really go since Okaa-san and Obaa-san were always at each other's throats over the smallest things like laundry, cleaning and who cooks better.

So naturally, the whole trip was going to be a bummer. But then with my Okaa-san's work, I got to stay at my Obaa-san's house alone. My parents dropped me off on a Sunday. They did want to stay but they had work and couldn't afford to miss another day of it.

With a vacation that was filled with hopping from one place to another, staying with my Obaa-san was the relaxing part of the summer. All that travelling around Japan was tiring and spending the last few days out on the countryside before I headed out back to the Academy was the downtime I needed.

Maybe it's because I haven't visited her in the longest, but Obaa-san's house looked and felt different. It was cleaner, the air was cool despite her house being located on the outskirts of Hokkaido and the stream right outside her house sparkled like fresh spring water. Waking up to the birds singing in her front yard was amazing, and pairing that up with the view of the mountainside when the sun rises, all of it was truly breathtaking. Not only that, the smell of freshly grilled fish got my tummy rumbling so loudly in the morning that most of the time it's my stomach waking me from my sleep.

Time always seemed to pass a little slower out here than in the city. What seemed like a day's worth of chores would always end at around early afternoon. Obaa-san would retreat to her room at this time to take her little nap, waking up only roughly an hour before she starts cooking dinner.

It's during these slow hours where even the dullest thing to do was exciting.

So the day before I was supposed to go to the airport, I combed through my entire luggage, rearranging clothes and double checking all of my school stuff just to make sure that I won't leave anything. My books, my uniform, my crystal ball (which I wrapped carefully with my clothes) and my Shiny Chariot Cards; all tucked away in the plastic pages of my album.

I nearly closed my luggage when I felt something roll towards the side of my leg.

_My wand._

I held it, swiveling it around a bit as I brought it closer to my chest. I haven't used it in a month and it still felt familiar to touch. Tracing its handle, my fingers ran over a scratch near the base of it. I never knew it was there. But remembering the countless times I've thrown, dropped, smacked or hit it, it doesn't seem impossible that it's got a few scratches. I tapped its side, sliding out the battery and held it in my other hand.

 _That's weird_ ; it had juice. And it was charged up to full. I don't recall any Leylines traversing across the places we traveled to, remembering 1st year general magic, there are no major Leylines that traversed across Japan. I'm pretty sure I haven't felt or seen the presence of a Sorcerer's Stone nearby.

After immediately returning the battery at the base of the wand, I casted an illumination spell to see if I can get the power down a bit. Then, I casted another light bending spell, this time making the little particles sparkle and explode like a little firework display. Checking again, the battery didn't drain. Not even a percent.

Last one. Maybe these spells didn't take enough magic power to drain my reserve. Time to use something a bit more powerful than those little light bending tricks.

Turning into a mouse, a monkey or an elephant would've been too easy since I've been doing it before. And since there's some magic around, turning into some other animal would've been more of a challenge. Checking out the magic in the area at the same time practicing my metamorphosis magic was like hitting two birds with one stone.

So choosing an animal that I wasn't used to was a bit complicated. It had to be something a bit more intimidating, a bit scarier I guess. Something I've never transformed into before.

" _Metamophei Faciesse_!" I screamed. As the light magic surrounded me, I tried to envision myself as the animal I chose—keen senses, powerful jaws, long legs, sharp canines and jet black fur. Once the smoke cleared, the side table was much smaller than what it was. The wooden floor was soft beneath my paws. I tapped it lightly, hoping that finally, after more than a year’s worth of practice, I'd finally perfected metamorphosis magic.

My tail wagged along to the bit of excitement running through me. Maybe that's what I needed; some sort of break from all that practice to finally get the magic right. The fur on my leg was pitch black and the nails of my paw ran thick. I ran my tongue across my teeth, lingering on the two sharp canines.

This time, I was sure I've gotten this right.

I turned around to see myself in the mirror set on the corner of my room.

 _Crap._ I still couldn't do it perfectly.

The red eyes of my reflection stared back at me with the same hint of disappointment that my whimper carried. I wasn't able to get rid of my hairstyle.

I sighed. Even if I was able to transform into a wolf, my half pony didn't go away. No one's going to be frightened even if I bared my fangs or howled. They'd probably be too busy laughing at my head.

I huffed, ready to change back but the sound of the door sliding open caught my attention. I came face to face with my Obaa-san, face pale, eyes wide behind her glasses as she pointed a trembling finger towards me.

"Ookami…" She was able to mumble under her breath before she passed out. She dropped to the floor, her head thudding against it.

"Obaa-san!" I panicked, transforming myself back and ran to her side. _Oh no!_

Her breath was still stable, but I'm sure she hit her head rather hard. I checked the back of her skull, feeling a big bump forming near the top of it.

 _White magic_ was the only way out of this situation but I never had the talent for it. I should call Diana, hoping that she was already up at this hour. My clothes flew everywhere as I rummaged through my luggage to get my crystal ball. It was wrapped in a thick jacket, which I threw to the side before I powered it up. Once the crystal glowed lightly, I dialed the only person's number that I knew that would, and could, help me in this situation.

"C'mon, pick up." My leg was shaking, my fingers were tapping away on my thigh. Waiting for Diana to pick up was nerve-racking. The line kept ringing on and on. I was on the verge of giving up at the seventh ring. In the middle of the eight ring, the sound of her voice on the other end washed away every bit of worry in me.

"Hell—"

"Diana!" I screamed, holding the ball closer. Once the connection stabilized, her face was clearer. Judging by the look she had on, she wasn't amused one bit.

"Are you in school already?"

I flinched. Diana didn't have to sound that angry.

I checked my time, it was **5:47PM**. _Yikes_ , no wonder she was mad. It’s probably around 8AM over there. Although she always woke up early, her mornings were always jam-packed with _stuff_. I should've called someone closer to my time zone, like Sucy. But then again, she would've probably be more angry than helpful if I dropped her a line. "It's an emergenc—"

"Are you in trouble?"

"I—" Why would she even assume that I'm in any sort of trouble? It's not like I planned any of this. “I’m not in trouble!”

"Excuse me for a moment." She disappeared from the crystal ball and all I could see was a bookshelf and the back of the office chair she was sitting on. I could hear her calling out to Anna, Diana’s voice pretty distant. I couldn't make out her specific words but hearing the words fish, biscuits and tea, I figured she was leaving Anna in charge of the kitchen or the market.

She came back and sat back down on the chair. Before she focused on her own crystal ball, she straightened out her shirt and flipped her hair backwards. "I apologize for the interruption; there are errands I had to settle. Now, what is your reason for calling?"

"I turned myself into a wolf."

She blinked. Then blinked again before narrowing her eyes at me. "You turned yourself into a wolf…" She said slowly.

"At my grandmother's house."

"…at your grandmother's house?" She leaned in, propping herself up on her elbow.

Okay, now she was just repeating everything I said and I was getting flustered with it. "No, Diana! Let me explain." I furrowed my brow, trying to get my thoughts together before I started to tell her the events that just happened.

"So, I'm in my Obaa-san's house…" She cocked her head. _Great_ , it's not like I didn't tell her that before. Anyway, it was nice of her to let me continue. "And I transformed into a wolf."

If this were somebody else, they would've definitely groaned, or laughed, since I wasn't making any sense.

But this was Diana. She was still waiting on me to continue with my tale. Good thing she wasn't impatient like me; I would've ended the call minutes ago.

I nodded. "I've nearly perfected metamorphosis magic." I caught her eyebrow, picking up on the remorseful tone that I had in my voice. Not even excited that I was finally executing a spell near perfection. "And she walked in on me when I was a wolf."

There was this silence between us. I didn't want to talk because of the sinking feeling in my gut. Diana inhaled sharply, her eyes wide as she finally figured out the reason behind my frantic, panicked call to her out of nowhere.

"Is your grandmother alright?"

 _Obviously_ , she wasn’t.

I gripped the crystal ball tighter, resisting the urge to throw it as hard as I could against something. My tongue already picking up this slight taste of blood from my frustration. I didn’t know what to do.

"Who is that young lady you're talking too?" came a voice from behind me as I was about to answer her.

I look back to see my Obaa-san standing over me, squinting at the crystal ball I had tucked between my legs.

"Obaa-san!" I shot up, the crystal ball hitting the hardwood floor with a loud clunk. I hugged her tight, seeing that she's okay. However, the bump on the back of her head was still there. "Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy? Does your head ache?"

"I am fine, I did have the weirdest dream though. I was about to call you for dinner, but when I walked into your room, you weren't there." She shrugged her shoulders and leaned in to whisper, "There was an Ookami right in your room, staring back at me."

I smiled at her as I wiped the tears from the side of my eyes. "I'm really glad you're okay, Obaa-san. And that wasn't a dream; that was me. I was practicing something for school. Turned out, it was a bad decision. I should've warned you first."

She laughed at me. If this were any other person, I would've been pissed but it's my Obaa-san, I'd give her a free pass. The important thing is that she's okay. "No wonder that felt very real. You are forgiven, Atsuko. Accidents happen. This wasn't something you intended. Besides, you are a good child." She patted my shoulder, then started to walk towards the dining room. "Now, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Freshen up and come to the table. It's not nice to keep the food waiting."

 _"Akko!"_ I heard a small, faint cry.

_Oh no! I nearly forgot about Diana!_

I scrambled to the floor, looking at all directions, checking out where the ball might've rolled over. There was this weird crease in the futon that looked like a ball so I pulled it up. The crystal ball was there, safe and unscratched.

" _Ehh_ , sorry Diana," I laughed nervously as I tried to hide my shame. I took it in my hands, this time placing it on top of my clothes pile on my luggage. "I was going to ask you to help me out with some white magic since my Obaa-san knocked out."

"Nothing seems to be wrong with your grandmother. Do you still need any assistance?"

I nodded. "She hit her head on the ground when she fell and now she has this really huge bump. That’s got me worried now," I whimpered.

"Just a moment." She reached for something on her right. It was a little fuzzy but I thought I saw the corner of a book. I assumed right once I heard the sound of pages flipping.

It took her a while to answer, but I was willing to wait. She pursed her lips after a few moments of silence. "Try casting this spell on her. Focus your magic on the area of her bruise and chant ' _Repar vasaguinos_ '."

It sounded unfamiliar and I screwed up the pronunciation the first time around. " _Repara Vasajinosu_?" I said, sounding a bit too confident. The crease on Diana’s forehead definitely told me that I didn’t get it right. The words were too foreign, and its composition was too hard to follow.

"Repeat after me. Be conscious with your stresses," She looked at me, blue eyes boring straight into my own. “Repar.”

"Repar," I repeated.

Then she continued the rest of it slower, enunciating each syllable. " _Va-sa-gu-wee-nos._ "

"Va _sa_ guinos." It sounded alike to me. And judging by Diana's small grin, I got it right.

"You pronounced the syllables correctly but you require a minor adjustment. The stress is on the fourth syllable, Akko. You won't be able to cast anything if you say it like that," she corrected me. "Now, repeat after me. Vasa _gui_ nos."

"Vasa _gui_ nos." This time I'm sure it's right.

"Sounds correct," she said.

_Great! I got it!_

"Repar Vasa _gui_ nos," I repeated, trying to get the words to stick. Mentally prepping myself for when I cast white magic on my Obaa-san's bruise.

She closed the book in front of her then gave me a small grin. "There, you got it right. Now, be careful in your execution and make sure to focus on the area of the bruise. "

My nod was a bit too ecstatic as I hugged the crystal ball as if it were Diana herself. She's always available to help me out when I'm in a pinch. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. I'll see you in school in two days. The call time is at 8AM so don't be late." She was about to end the call, but hesitated for a bit. "You know the consequences of being tardy," she added.

"Yep Diana! I won't be late! I think..." I said a bit too excited, sort of promising her that a repeat of the previous years would no longer happen. Besides, it's just another day that I'll have to endure until I'm finally back at campus. Back to where my friends are, back to where Chariot teaches and more importantly, back to where magic lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Okaa-san - Mother  
> Otou-san - Father  
> Obaa-san - Grandmother  
> Ookami - Wolf


	2. Chapter 2

I've almost missed my flight due to my Obaa-san. She was too stubborn, insisting that she's fine and that she didn't need any healing and that her bruise will be fine without my help. Well, there was no way that anyone would leave a big bruise like that on an old lady untreated. I'm sure wouldn’t.

This should've been done right after dinner but she kept saying that she was tired and that she needed some rest. The next day, it was _so_ obvious that she didn't want any help with her bump, delaying my pleas with excuses like going to the market, making tea and even cleaning the whole house. It took the entire breakfast to convince her that she shouldn't leave her bruise just like that and another hour after that to convince her that magic wouldn't ruin her soul.

"Magic always had a trade-off of some kind, Atsuko. An arm, a leg, your first born child, a part of your soul..." She laughed it off, but still sounded dismissive of the idea of it. "It’s impossible to trust. Especially if it takes some part of my humanity."

I groaned, pointing the tip of my wand towards her bump. Her bruise was already black, looking a bit bigger than the night before.

There was this guilty feeling that settled at the top of my stomach as I was gauging the size of her bump. I'm glad that she's okay. She doesn't seem to have been affected by the fall. Either that or my Obaa-san's a pretty good actress.

"This is a different type of magic, Obaa-san. Those ways of magic are dead and gone. New Age magic’s supposed to help you on things like chores, cooking, _healing up wounds and bruises_ ," emphasizing the last part. I couldn't blame her. Magic was different during her time. "I didn't really sacrifice anything to gain control of magic, see?" I showed her my hands, stretching them from behind her then wiggling my fingers. "Ten full fingers, all functional and nothing less."

"I see that, Akko." She laughed again. "But chores can be done without the use of a wand if you're diligent enough. And that applies to cooking as well. As for wounds and bruises, I do remember patching up this young child years ago because she'd always run off somewhere believing she could fly. She's turned into a fine young woman right now," she turned to face me, placing her hand on my cheek. "There's no magic in that."

And it was in the way she smiled that sent this sense of accomplishment coursing through my veins.

She pinched my cheek a bit too hard that my lips parted on the side that she held. "And that fine young woman needs to eat more. How are you going to function normally when you look extremely fragile?"

That feeling of accomplishment was gone at the mention of me being weak; frowning at my Obaa-san making sure she saw my miffed expression. "Ahm not fwagile, Obaa-shan," I was able to answer her despite the fact that she was still pulling on my cheek. "Av got a lot ohf punch in me."

"I know that. You've got some of me in you so you’re one feisty girl. But you do need a bit of meat on you," she let go, then patted the side of my cheek she pinched, dropping that smile she had. "I'm not going to stop you from pursuing your dream so do not be angry at me. It simply terrifies me that this is the path your heart truly desires."

“It’s not the same, why can’t you understand that? Performing magic in front of a big audience is different from using it like a gun or some sick weapon.” I couldn’t hide the angry tone in my voice.

Maybe it was because she grew up fearing magic. There are so many fairy tales about how manipulative and scary magic used to be in Japan's olden days. I wasn't that aware of what type of magic she's seen. But for her to say that she's scared for me, I'd rather not know myself.

"It all comes from the same energy source, right? This magic you use now and the magic I’ve witnessed before, correct?” She eyed me, waiting for me to agree with her—which I did with a slight nod. “I've seen many wars erupt from power and magic was a big part of their arsenal. It's corrupted the most honorable of nations. To control magic powerful enough to overturn an entire society always had some sort of price to pay," she then turned her back against me and said under her breath, "Your life isn't worth any sort of powerful magic known and unknown to man. No _grand_ mother should bury their own _grand_ daughter.”

"It's not going to happen, Obaa-san. I promise you. I'm going to be okay, and I'm not going to be a soldier, a knight, or a mage sent out to the battlefield," I patted her back, then told her to hold her hair to the side. "I'm going to be like Shiny Chariot! Showing the world happiness through magic shows that inspire children and adults alike."

I heard her huff at the end of my reply, followed by her turning her back against me. But still, even if she was against it, it won’t stop me from becoming a full-fledged witch.

I braced myself. Obaa-san held her hair to the side, making the bump a lot more visible than when it was tied.

" _Repar Vasaguinos_."

My pronunciation clearly sounded off. It took a few, long seconds until the tip of my wand gave off a faint, white light like Diana said it would. Her bump receded moments later, and the only reminder of it was the bruise that surrounded it.

Now, to see if the spell really worked, I gave the dark patch a poke. She didn't flinch at all. And from the feel of it, the bump was gone entirely.

A huge sigh of relief escaped my lips.

_Thank you, Diana. You're a lifesaver._

Top that incident off with my Obaa-san not allowing me to travel without little send-off gifts from her, I was held back an hour according to my schedule. It took a long time to repack all of my stuff to make room for everything she wanted me to bring—most of those things were food.

But despite her persistence, I still made it to the plane back to Europe with a few minutes to spare.

Broom in hand, my stuff in the other, I made my way to the same broom stop I've used for the past two years. Students were lining up, all going on their way to Luna Nova. Some of them new, others were familiar faces from my batch or a year younger.

The line was long, almost reaching the edge of the small town nearby, when I took my spot at the end. And even though there were so many familiar faces, my friends were nowhere to be seen. It was a bummer since they all said they’d be coming in today. I stood there for roughly half an hour by myself until something snapped me out of my trance.

"Hey there, short stuff!" came a greeting from behind, accompanied by a hand fiercely ruffling my hair and loosening my hair tie.

"Amanda!" I said, pushing her hand away. "Great, now I have to tie my hair all over again!"

"Didn't think I'd see you here this early! I thought you'd make three for three," she said, then snickered. She slapped me in the back, nearly toppling me over. I shot her an irritated pout as I fixed my pony. " _Ha_ , I guess there’s no hilarious show this year for everyone to enjoy. Too bad."

"Shut up," I said a bit angrily, still wanting to shove her.  "I'm not going to be late this year."

"Sure looks like it. Though, I'm not blaming you. Diana is one scary witch."

 _Wait…_ "What? How does _Diana_ fit into any of this?"

Her smirk was intimidating, and I knew exactly what's to come. Even though we've both gotten a bit closer over the years, Amanda's teasing has become a lot worse. "Been hearing that you and Diana talking and hitting up each other all summer. I'm not surprised about the news a bit. The whole year last year, she had you following her around like a puppy," she chortled. "It's kinda cute. How much _nagging_ did she do to convince you to get to school earlier?"

"What!?" I screamed so loud that everyone in line looked towards our direction. "What do you mean I'm _her puppy_? I'm not Diana's pet! I’m her friend! She was helping me throughout the entire school year!” My finger was repeatedly poking the middle of Amanda’s chest as I said each point clearly. “And there's nothing wrong with calling her over the summer! And she definitely doesn't nag me to do anything!"

"Someone sounds a bit defensive." She tucked her hands in her pocket. She took a step back from me then said, "So, if you guys are friends, what are you guys talkin' about? Care to _enlighten_ me on the subject?"

I couldn't recall any of the things that we've talked about. As much as I tried to remember, nothing was coming to mind at that time and Amanda _annoying_ me wasn't helping me at all. So all I answered was a muffled, "…stuff."

"The word "stuff" isn't as ‘jam-packed with information’ as you think it is," came her snide remark paired up with that annoying, trademark grin. "So, what did you guys talk about during the summer?"

"Ugh," I crossed my arms. No, I wasn't going to let Amanda's teasing bother me this time. This conversation had to end and ignoring her would make her stop. "You know what? I’m not going to share with you whatever it was we talked about over the summer. So buzz off."

She laughed out loud, the students surrounding us looking our way once more. "Why? Does it contain something _explicit_? An episode that isn't supposed to be discussed in the company of others? Those things were supposed to talk about behind closed doors?"

This time she got me gritting my teeth. The urge to tackle her to the ground was getting stronger. But instead of doing what I felt I should have, I turned my back towards her. I was going to be better than this. I am the better person. I could handle Amanda's teasing. All I had to do was ignore her and not let it get to me. She's always doing this. Pulling my strings and pissing me off. I can't understand what sort of enjoyment she gets from annoying me.

So I didn't answer her question and left her hanging. The handle of my bag was marking my palms from my grip as I dragged all of my stuff away from Amanda as fast as I could.

Normal people would've gotten the message. Normal people would've stopped. Or would’ve changed the subject _even_. But Amanda didn't behave like a normal person. Her footsteps matched my pace and I could only assume the thing poking my shoulder was Amanda's broom handle, trying to get me to look back.

"Come to think of it, Diana never teaches anyone else privately. 'Cept for you, of course. You're her only exception. Her only private student. Like, not even Hannah or Barbara gets an hour to them alone and they’re her dorm mates." I could literally feel her smirking at me even with my back towards her. I was clenching my fist on my broom tight, my teeth biting down hard on my lips. She knew exactly which buttons to push to annoy me, and she wasn't going to slow down any time soon. "Did she teach you things besides school work? All those late nights in the library last year must've gotten sensual, right?"

_That's it._

In one swift motion, I let go of everything on hand and I lunged myself towards her to tackle her to the ground. Her hair was within reach but she was quick, holding me at arm's length before I was even able to grab her. Instead, I grabbed her shirt and yanked it towards me. She was strong, but I was determined to wipe that stupid grin off of her big mouth. I pulled back an arm, ready to punch her, but she clutched my arm swiftly before I could snap my fist. She rolled me over, gripped me around my neck and pinned me to the ground with a tight choke-hold.

"Why do you have to be so defensive, Kagari?" She snickered. I couldn't get her arm off my neck, but I was still persistent to try to get out of her grasp, biting and scratching her forearm trying to make her let go of me.

"Amand—"

"When will the both of you ever stop fighting? There’s still the option to talk about your differences, you know." I heard someone sigh from behind. I recognized who that worried voice belonged to even if she wasn’t within my sight.

"Oh hey, Lotte!" Amanda greeted, her grip still strong around my neck. "For the record, she started it. She tackled me first." Amanda then pulled my head towards her chest tighter, causing me to gawk. "So, I'm teaching her a lesson."

"They can't help it, Lotte. Birds of the same feather tear each other apart," came another familiar voice. This one deadpan, almost dreary and gloomy.

"I don't think that's how that saying goes," Lotte said.

"Sucy! Lotte!" I pushed Amanda one more time. "Let me go, Amanda!" After she wouldn't, I kicked her blindly from the front, hitting her in the shin which caused her to let me go.

I pushed her off, leaving her on the ground as I bolted towards Sucy and Lotte to pull them both into a tight hug.

"You guys!" I know it's only been a month but it felt like I haven't seen them in years.

"Akko, stop. You're cutting off circulation to my brain," Sucy pleaded as she squirmed underneath my grip. I knew she missed me too. No way was I going to let her go. I'm going to hug her because I missed her and she just has to deal with it.

"I missed you so much!" I hugged them tighter. This time, Lotte was the one squirming trying to get out of my grip, so I let go of the both of them.

"So, how was your summer?" I asked them.

Amanda finally stood up from behind us, murmuring some curse words under her breath. She patted down her uniform and straightened it out before walking towards us.

"I was able to take over the shop a few weeks. I didn't think I could handle it but I did, although I was a bit nervous at first," Lotte sounded excited. "My mom and dad's finally able to rest since they've taken shop duty off their minds for a few days. I've never been happier to see them like that."

I smiled at her. This was the reason she came to Luna Nova in the first place. To be able to obtain a license to continue running her parents shop and it’s finally coming true.

I turned towards Sucy. She still had the weird looking broom they had in her country. It didn't look like the standard issued one. Its bristles look softer and were fanned out unlike ours. This was the broom she used every time she's going back to the academy straight from her country. "What about you, Sucy? I bet you had tons of fun during the summer."

She tilted her head, letting out a yawn before she answered me. "Nope. Everything was definitely boring. I couldn't wait for school to start to get out of the house," Sucy said. "Nothing exciting ever happens where I live. Except maybe when there are families bickering outside. Those are really fun to watch." She looked upwards, her focus dropped to Lotte right beside her. "The fun only picked up when Lotte came to visi—"

"Whaaaat!? You guys went on a trip without me!?" My face dropped to the floor. I didn't even let Sucy finish her sentence. How come they never told me that there was this little get together at Sucy's place? We would've done so much! I’ve always wanted to have a fun vacation with the both of them. "Why didn't you call me up!? Why didn’t you invite me!?"

The both of them looked puzzled. Sucy was the first to speak up. "We did, remember? You said you were going on a road trip with your family. You tripped all the way down the stairs because you were on the crystal ball with us. It was a fun thing to watch," she answered, smirking.

"Oh." _Now_ I remembered. I was too busy at that time that I forgot about it. Well, they did call at a bad time. My parents were flustered with the plans and the schedules. They were so engaged in trying to figure out which places to go to that they were making me do their errands left and right. Maybe that’s why I don’t recall any of it.

"So, what you do over there at Sucy's place?" I turned my attention to Lotte. "Does she live in a mushroom?"

"No, she doesn’t live in a mushroom but you can say that her house is made of dried up plants. Her country’s a little hotter and more humid than what I'm used to, but it's really nice. The beaches there are great and there are tons of coconut trees!"

"Ow," Amanda mumbled before she stood beside me. Then, without much of a warning, I was hit hard with a slap across my shoulder. "Eye for an eye, Kagari."

I winced, almost retaliated with a slap of my own but Lotte put her hand on my back. "Fine," I mumbled.

"You guys can go ahead," Amanda said, clasping her hands at the back of her head. "I'm going to wait for my group."

"We can stay behind, right guys? It’s not like we’re going to different places anyway." I said, both Sucy and Lotte agreeing with me by nodding their heads. We let the students behind us ahead as we waited for the remaining members of Amanda's team.

"No worries though, it won’t be too long. They said they're pretty close. Knowing Jasminka, she's definitely somewhere in town checking out all the food stops. I'm sure Constanze is with her too. She doesn't have to worry about lugging all her stuff since she's got those Stanbots following her around."

And she was right. It only took around 15 minutes before they both arrived, Jasminka was munching away on some chips from a bag bigger than her own head. Constanze turned up with Stanbot's carrying most of her luggage while she was playing with the little metal control box all the way to the broom stop.

We didn’t immediately leave as intended. Although the line was long, we decided that after we made our way through the Leyline, we wouldn’t be able to hang out with each other like this anymore, free from the academic responsibilities that we all had to do. So instead, we stayed back a few more hours, sharing our summer stories with each other. Amanda somehow snuck in some scheduling on our free weekends, saying that we should all marathon Mary’s movie collection at the green room dorm before the lessons pick up after the first few weeks. We were all up for it except Sucy, who’s got reasons she wouldn’t share with us, but after a few pokes from Lotte, she’ll be reluctantly joining. All we had to do was show up and the green team will take care of everything else.

It was when the line had no more students that we got our stuff to use the Leylines. Amanda was the first on to go followed by the rest of her teammates. When it was our turn to use it, Sucy turned, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, you don’t have anything salty in your stuff right?”

“Nope, I made sure I didn’t!”

She mumbled a soft, “Good,” then got on the Leylines, leaving me and Lotte behind.

It took us a while before we got on, Lotte watching Sucy ascend to the top of the tower before letting out a small huff.

“Lotte? Anything bothering you?” I asked.

“This’ll be the last time we’ll ever be riding this terminal together as students,” she looked at me, her eyes still was soft behind those big, circular glasses she always had. “The next time we pass through the Leylines, we’ll be graduates.”

I let out a big grin. “We’ll be full-fledged witches by then! It's going to be exciting!”

“Yes,” she hummed, her voice sounding mournful.

“Is there something wrong?”

She shook her head slightly before facing me. “Just thinking about the future. You know, once we all go our own ways, I don’t think we’d have time for each other.” Her fingers started to play with the loose string on her sleeve. “This may be our last year together as a group. Who knows what’ll happen after that?”

She bit her lip but I had my hand on her shoulder. “We don’t have to think of it that way. We’re always going to stay friends, whatever comes our way!”

“I know it’s just…” She trailed off, never finishing her sentence. “I’m getting sentimental again, never mind me.” She shook her head before mounting her broom and kicking off into the Leylines. “I’ll see you in the dorms, Akko.”

In an instant, she was gone and I was all alone at the base of the tower. Broom in one hand, my luggage in the other, Lotte’s little reflection dawned on me and sat itself comfortably on the back of my head. We lived in different countries, with different planned futures. But that didn’t mean we had to stop talking to each other, right?

I don’t think I’m prepared to lose any of them as my friends. I’m making sure that I’m gonna going to reach out to them, even when I’m busy!

Yup, friendship is a two way street after all!

I mounted my broom and kicked off. I was on my way to become one spectacular witch like Shiny Chariot. Magic show after magic show, the smiles painted on everyone’s faces, including my friends at Luna Nova, is something to look forward to.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite my Obaa-san's begging, I wasn’t going to bring a jar of Umeboshi on my flight back to school even though I wanted to. Any salt in the Leylines was terrible idea since it wasn't particularly salt-friendly, and honestly, I didn't want a repeat of what happened during my first year here. And all those after class broom flying tutorials with Chariot, the flight through the Leylines was smoother this time and without a problem.

We had a little more time to unpack our stuff when we arrived. Lotte was surprised with how much food I had to take out of my luggage—it took at least 3/4 of the available space in front of the windowsill alone. The both of them didn't mind though. Lotte only had her books, which took the entire line of her table. Sucy, on the other hand, fully utilized the vacant hanging shelves nested above her bed and placed all sorts of bottles on it. They were either filled with weird potions or extracts. At the foot of her bed, she had those weird mangrove plants she always brought from back home—Sucy's never without her ingredients, no matter how strange or weird they may be.

It's not like there would be any change in our bed arrangements, it's been like that for the past 2 years so there's no point in moving around now. Sucy took her place on the solo single bed at the right side of the room and Lotte moving on the top bunk on her bed. Mine was at the bottom, and right beside me was my Shiny Chariot poster that I've had since I was a little girl.

We dressed into our formal uniforms quickly, both Sucy and Lotte finishing faster than myself. My clothes were a mess after that frantic packing back at home that it took me awhile to find all the pieces of my uniform amongst the other clothes I brought along.

"I'm ready!" I said, knotting the belt around my waist. Lotte handed me my wand which I've secured on my belt.

"Akko," she called me, sounding kinda worried.  "Where's your hat?"

"It's right—" It was supposed to be on top of my stuff or if it isn't, somewhere folded along the other clothes that I've thrown about on the floor. One quick scan along the mess I've made gave me this sinking feeling in my gut.

My hat wasn't there.

Oh no. Oh no. _Oh no._

I scrambled over to my luggage, throwing my clothes around hoping and praying that my hat was covered up in one of the shirts or shorts I'd pack. Searching the entire capacity of my luggage—all its hidden compartments, the pockets on the front and the back—was useless. In my last attempt, I scampered towards our desk, checking all the plastic containers, bags and even the underside of the jars out of desperation. With my rotten luck, it was nowhere to be seen.

"I can't go there without a hat! I'll be sent to detention!" No way was I going there with an incomplete uniform. I didn't want to get called out and humiliated in front of all the other students. Also, attending the school assembly in incomplete uniform was punishable. Crap, I didn't want to do any chores on the first day of school. I had to find my way out of this situation. "Do you have a spare hat? Or any hat? I can morph it into a witch’s hat anyway. Guys?"

They both shook their heads, much to my dismay.

"Sorry Akko," Lotte said, pointing towards her head. "This one's the only one I have on me right now."

"You could use this," Sucy yanked something from her luggage and threw it towards me. It was still wrapped in a crumpled up, white-striped, pink plastic bag.

"What is this...?" I caught it before taking out whatever was wrapped inside. It didn't look like a hat. It was round and soft with a red top red filled with white polka dots. I squeezed it with my hands, thinking that this felt more like a pillow than it was something to be worn on your head. There was a bit of thread that was hanging from one side, showing a bit of cotton. I pushed it in and tucked it in. Aside from that little fault, it was new—this small piece of paper out of the plastic bag as I threw it in the garbage bin

"A mushroom cap." She said, picking up the paper to read it. "My sister's gave it to me as an advance birthday present. I won't be spending it with them this year so they just handed that to me. What lazy idiots," she said, a one-sided smile tugging on her lips as she crumpled it and tossed it in the bin. "They forgot to throw the receipt away. Totally ruins the concept of getting a gift in the first place."

"It's the thought that counts. It's pretty adorable if you ask me. And it quits you well! It would go along with your mushroom collection in your room." Lotte commented, then stood beside me as she smiled towards Sucy. "Your siblings are young, give them the benefit of the doubt. They must've forgotten to throw it away when they handed it to you. If I remember correctly, they gave it to you in a hurry."

Sucy shrugged at Lotte's comment, although I'd have to agree with her. They might've simply forgotten to throw the piece of paper away. Or they could've missed it entirely—I didn't even notice it until it fell out of the plastic bag.

The hat seemed cute, it looked exactly like one of those mushrooms known in that popular video game with the plumber. Obviously, my head's supposed to go where the stem was, making it look like I had a giant mushroom growing out the top of me. It was a perfect fit but it was a bit heavy when I put it on. That was off, since this was made out of polyester and cotton.

"Sucy, this hat feels awfully weird. Any chance you put some weird stuff in it?" It shifted on my head, again. "It feels like you did."

She looked at me with a dead expression. "I'm not hiding anything there. I haven't even touched that yet."

"Don't you have any other hat I could borrow?" I asked, taking the hat off and placing it on the desk. "This other hat feels like trouble."

"That's the only thing I have..."

"What about your nightcap?" It was hanging on its usual spot on the post of Sucy's bed.

"...that I'm willing to lend you. I'm not making you use my night cap."

"Why not?!" I screamed. Her nightcap would've been fine. And besides, it'll be returned in good condition. The only reason it’s needed is because we're required to attend the orientation in full uniform, the school issued witch’s hat included.

Lotte pulled our sleeves, nearly tipping me off balance. "Hurry up guys, the orientation starts in 30 minutes and if we don't leave soon, we might not make it. Akko," she looked at me, "you'll do _fine_ without a hat. We’ll get there early and they might let you off with a verbal warning. It’s better than cleaning the comfort rooms on the first day just because we're late to the assembly. Besides," she paused, glancing towards the clock hanging on top of our desk. "The faculty is not going to send you to detention because of an incomplete uniform. If that's what you're afraid off. "

“But I’m still going to get in trouble! You don’t understand Lotte, I’m not getting in any form of mess, even if it's a professor telling me off.”

I backed down when she looked back at me with eyes that pierced like my mother’s. I had to stifle a whimper, as she yanked me one more time.

"Fine," I pouted, still flustered with Sucy's reluctance to lend me her night cap. I'll settle for the weird looking mushroom cap. I grabbed my wand; which nearly slipped from my hand since the tip caught the side of my belt. It took a moment for me to gather my thoughts and focus on casting the clothes transformation spell on the mushroom cap on top of our shared desk.

_"Metamorphie Vestesse!"_

And in that instant, the hat levitated before turning completely white, emitting a soft, bright light as we witness it change its form from a mushroom to the standard witch's cap. Once the light faded, it was exactly like the school standard hat—pointed tip, wide-set brim and even the red ribbon with the buckle across the base. I faced the both of them as I wore it, my hands adjusting the brim to make the side with the buckle face forward. "So, how do I look?"

"It looks... pretty okay I guess?" Lotte answered. The way their face contorted didn't sound at all convincing.

"Does it _at least_ pass off as a Luna Nova hat? I can't go in there if it doesn't look like one. I’ll be called out."

"No one's going to notice how lumpy your hat looks," Sucy said, passing me and went out the door. Lotte followed soon after.

"You noticed it Sucy!" And if she did, then I'm sure everyone else was going to.

"Come on, Akko. Let’s leave now so we arrive early." Lotte said, panicking as she looked back at me. “We’ll be able to get good seats.”

“Just a minute!” I said. No matter how many times I adjusted it, it squirmed from one side to the other. Lotte was getting impatient, yanking my sleeve _again_ even though I still wasn't satisfied with how the hat sat on my head.

"Akko…" Her brow was furrowed as she looked back towards me.

"I'm… going to fix this," I pointed towards my head. "It feels weird. And heavy. And lumpy."

Sucy walked back in the room with the intention to drag Lotte with her in the direction of the auditorium. "C'mon, leave her. Give her time to adjust that thing on her head. She’ll be squirming around in the auditorium if you don’t let her. That’ll catch the professor’s attention even from the back seats," she said, then looked at me. "We'll save a seat for you. Don't be late."

I nodded as they both exited the room. “Don’t worry about me!” I reassured Lotte, who answered me with a pout.

Now, back to my adjustments. We had this small mirror at the corner of our dorm. Tugging the hat on its brim from either direction made it flop the other way. Even though its reflection showed that there wasn't a problem with its form, there was no way that this thing was going to sit steady on the top of my head.

"Keep still, you stupid ha—" In my anger, I tried to punch it only to hit my head instead. It completely dodged my fist, landing on the floor like a parachute.  "What the—"

It shifted on the ground slightly but I didn't pay any attention to it—maybe it was the wind that made it move. Reaching out to it again to grab a fistful of nothing only confirmed my suspicions that there was something else to it. This piece of clothing was moving on its own and was avoiding my hand at all costs. It skittered out the door as fast as it could.

"Come back!"

I popped my head out from our dorm only to see it steadily heading down the hallway. It was going on a course away from the auditorium; pouncing and jumping its way towards the other side of the corridor.

The feeling of panic surged within me at the sound of ripping cloth. On its underside, it grew legs. 4 white, tiny legs that ran faster than it did back at the dorm.

"What the—"

Walking faster and trying to swipe it wasn't a great plan since all of my attempts ended up with the hat dodging every effort I made to pick it up. How is this thing even able to move? It was no longer swerving from left to right and it started to gain a distance from me at an alarming pace.

There's no way Sucy didn't plan this. Always brewing up scheme's to make a fool out of me, trying on those weird potions, making me her guinea pig. This was probably something she planned from the very beginning! Once I capture that thing, I'm going to make sure Sucy regret thinking about this little scheme of hers. Right now, that hat had to be caught or else I'll be going to the auditorium with an incomplete uniform.

I could still reach it if I lunged forward at it so I did. Luck wasn't on my side at that time since I missed it completely. It turned, evading my attack and causing me to hit the side of the marble pillar head on.

"Ow…" I could only assume the ward liquid running down my nose was blood. I wiped it on my sleeve, stood up and dashed towards it.

I nearly lost sight of it since it disappeared in the sea of students that were grouped up in the hallway. I can’t see it moving, but with each and every one of them shrieking and screaming like a conducted symphony, I followed their screams instead.  Who could blame them? Anyone would be startled if a piece of clothing ran past them without warning—in front of them, at their side or through their legs.

As I was about to lose all hope, Amanda was just about to enter the Green Room dorm. Finally, fate was on my side.

"Akko, what—"

"No time to talk!" She had her broom in hand, and I grabbed the top part of it. "Get on and follow that hat!"

I expected her to say no but she didn't hesitate at all. We wasted no time mounting her broom and Amanda kicked off immediately. Forgetting about Amanda's flying style, I nearly toppled off as she accelerated at a rapid pace. I held on for dear life as she swerved in and out of student groups, causing them to hold their skirts and hats down as we darted past them.

"Just when I thought this year was off to a boring start, you come along," she said as she directed to broom towards the ceiling. It was pretty clever and we're able to gain speed without having to dodge student groups. Plus, because of the height advantage, the hat was easily in our sights. "You never fail to make the first day a bit more exciting."

"Shut up Amanda!" Now was not the time for her stupid jokes or her comments. "It's right there!"

It stopped and a small head peaked from the side looking at us. It let out a small squeak and took a turn at the next corridor. There was a long tail that popped out from its back.

No one's able to get a good turn at a dangerously fast pace, and even with Amanda's great broom handling skills, we bolted past where we were supposed to turn. She had to direct her broom towards the ground to stop and change route, missing both Hannah and Barbara by an inch.

"Shit, sorry!" Amanda said as she skidded, then made a U-turn towards the corridor we missed. I couldn’t resist making a face at the both of them before they were out of sight.

Once we rounded the corner, the hat was too far away from us. At this rate, we weren't going to catch up to it. The idea of blasting it from afar to stun it sounded like the perfect plan in my head. The corridor was empty there's no way I could hit anything or anyone. And with a clear path, it was an easy target. I'll be able to seize it and make it back to the assembly in no time.

My hand was on my wand as I propped myself up behind Amanda. "Don't you dare lose speed! I'm going to hit it with a weak extermination spell!"

She scoffed. "Oi Kagari, don't worry about my speed! It's your aim and control that you should be worrying about!"

Ignoring Amanda's off-putting comment, I used her head to support my aim. It was hard to center a moving target but the moment that hat was in my line of fire, I screamed, " _Murowa_!"

There was a crash—pieces of debris hitting my cheeks—but the hat still was moving forward. Amanda tilted at the last second to throw my aim off entirely.  "Amanda, stop swerving! I almost hit it!" I slapped her in the back pretty hard, that shot would've been perfect if she didn't shift a bit to the left. If she only was steady during that second then this whole chase would've been over.

The debris from the side of the wall that I hit knocked the hat, finally revealing the white mouse underneath it. It was clinging on to the little critters neck by a thin thread, slowing it down just a bit.

"Idiot, I have some obstacles to dodge too, ya know!" She screamed back, leaning a bit forward stabilizing the flight. "Ya wanna crash into a chandelier!?"

She was gaining a ridiculous amount of speed and in a few seconds, the hat was only a few more feet in front of us. It was within reach. It was so close that I could dive for it.

"Akko! Don't—"

And in one last attempt to save my hat, I jumped forward as Amanda came to a screeching halt. I had it, it had crossed my line of sight once more and I fired another _Murowa_ mid-air, hoping that it would finally hit my target.

The absence of a blast or an explosion had me worried a bit. At that moment, I might've missed my mark but the mouse stopped at the exact moment and I was able to secure the hat in my hands before I hit the ground and rolled forward further down the hallway. The mouse broke free from the final thread, scampering away behind the tall, intimidating person that stood in my path.

_Great!_ I thought. Finally, I had—in my hands—the witch’s hat I desperately needed.

But, unfortunately…

…

…

…I was sprawled out in the middle of this gigantic hallway, my back towards an entire group of faculty members—Principal Holbrooke, Professor Finnelan, Professor Lukcic, and the others as well probably on their way to the auditorium. Sitting up and facing them made my blood run cold. Their eyes were drawing different, terrifying emotions—shock, disappointment and frustration.

My face hurt. The pain of the injury I sustained moments ago started to catch up with my body. The rest of my limbs were still a tangled mess and there was this pain in my joints that made it impossible for me to stand.

"Ms. O'niell…" That voice was stern and heavy but unrecognizable—I haven't heard it before in the two years I’ve been enrolled. She directed her gaze from Amanda, who was standing a few feet away from me with wide eyes, an open mouth and trembling legs, towards me. "Ms. Kagari."

As if her voice wasn't intimidating enough, she looked directly into my eyes. Those were the blackest and darkest eyes I've seen and her light, corpse-like complexion only amplified it more. It was like I was staring into black hole; sending chills down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck standing. She towered over me, her right arm in the air with her hand closing into a fist, traces of smoke coming from her palm. Professor Chariot was right behind her and from where I sat, she only was up to this new professor's shoulder.

"Report to the Principal's Office, this instant!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted earlier, will be out tomorrow.

Even with my efforts to attend the student assembly without causing much of a problem, I found myself in the Principal’s office again at the start of this school year.

“Miss Kagari and Ms. O’niell,” Principal Holbrooke sat on her desk, the new teacher to her side and Professor Finnelan on the other. “It pains me to see the both of you right here on the first day,” she said, her soft and calm voice not matching the look of disappointment spread across her face.

I could say the same for myself, but not in an emotional way. I wanted to go to the infirmary now. My back _hurt_. Add to that, I’ve slapped two bandages on my nose in a hurry to stop it from bleeding too much. I hunched over as I stood in front of them with Amanda right beside me, her hands in her pockets. I wished Professor Chariot was with us but all of the other teachers were sent back to the student assembly to lead it without Principal Holbrooke.

“I didn’t really expect—”

“Community service totaling 15 hours.” came an interruption from the new professor, not even flinching as she talked. “Each.”

A weak, “...what?” escaped my lips. Amanda also gasped.

We were all shocked. My eyes were wide with my mouth hanging a bit open. Even Ms. Finnelan wore the same expression I had on.

“That’s… a bit harsh for the first offenc—”

“For the entire time she’s been enrolled here, _Anne_ ,” she interrupted Professor Finnelan, causing her eyes to grow wider than mine. “Ms. Kagari alone has violated 5 different sections of the students code, 19 issued marks on her record, served at least 20 school issued punishments and has incurred damages totaling to at least 1,000 pounds in damages to school property. Which is more than her entire batch’s individual records _combined_.”

“It’s still too harsh, Francoise. That action tak— “

“Ms. O’niell has 4 violations on her record—but this is only counting the times that _she’s been caught_. If your patrol teams were as vigilant as you assume they are, then that number would’ve been much higher than what’s recorded.”

Everyone’s jaw were on the floor.

“Well…” I was already pleading that Headmistress Holbrooke or Professor Finnelan say something about this. My eyes shot toward the both of them, my hand waving in the air but they didn’t see me at all, their eyes glued on the new professor. I wanted them to say something; 15 hours of community service was too much!

“I’ve been sent here to straighten things out, Miranda. The slow but steady rise of magical energy source calls the state to strengthen its magical education. The entire country...” she tapped her chin, pausing for a bit. “ _Correction._ The entire witches’ federation knows of Luna Nova’s current declining state, which I’m sure the both of you and everyone else in the faculty, is aware about.”

“That’s true. But we care for our children as they are... _children_. They’re growing. They're all maturing at their own pace. There’s no need to be stiff, they still have their own experiences to make,” the headmistress argued, looking towards the new professor, not losing that small smile across her face. “We are not creating warriors, Francoise. This isn’t the military. They aren’t _your_ soldiers.”

“And that’s the reason Luna Nova’s dwindling. It’s a good choice they’ve sent me here before it’s too late,” she shot the headmistress a piercing gaze as a reply. “15 hours of community service for the both of them. Our students should know how to behave in accordance with the school’s rules and regulation. Discipline and success go hand in hand.”

She turned to face us both that had chills running down my spine. “I’ll be seeing the both of you after class to discuss, in detail, your community service. Do not be late or I’ll be giving you extra hours for it.”

“That’s unfa—”

“Dismissed.” She was quick to shoot my retort down, then turned her back against us.

There’s no way that I wanted to leave, taking a step forward but Amanda held me back. This professor needed to know that whatever she was doing was unfair, too much punishment for something so minor but after Amanda grabbed a fistful of my shirt from the back and yanked me towards the door, we left.

* * *

 

I was surprised to see Diana at the door of the Principals’ office once we were sent off. Apparently, she’ll be escorting us both back to class since she’s the class rep. They didn’t want to leave the both of us alone together walking in the hallways.

"Akko and Amanda. The both of you make such a troublesome tandem." It was embarrassing to be scolded at the start of the year for the third time in a row. At the end of that one sided conversation with Professor Finnelan, Headmistress Holbrooke and the new professor, we're going to be reprimanded again, this time by Diana.

"I was helping Akko ou—"

"That doesn't discount the fact that your decision to assist her was reckless and dangerous. Although your broom riding skills are far better than most students, riding it at neck breaking speed through the hallways could've resulted in a dangerous accident. Might I remind you that you've nearly crashed into Hannah and Barbara! You're lucky enough that most of the students were already assembled at the auditorium while that incident occurred." She turned her head towards me, not losing that scowl on her face. "And as for you,” she paused, her eyes casting this look that made me want to hide from her. “I can't even _begin_ to fathom what went through your mind releasing a magical blast inside the school premises twice! Have you not learned your lesson? Do you not think of the repercussions of your actions?"

"I couldn't show myself there without a hat," I answered her, my voice breaking as I reasoned out. Trying to keep a straight face was hard especially since I had to explain everything again. "We're supposed to be dressed in our complete uniform. Can't imagine being punished at the start of the school year just because I came in without a hat. That's stupid."

She shook her head, her fingers on her temples as she said, "And it would've been much more culturally acceptable to be issued punishment for student endangerment? Destruction of school property? Recklessnes—"

"Hey, Diana.” I’ve never been so relieved at Amanda holding back Diana because if she didn’t, I would’ve definitely answered back. “We got a good scolding from Finnelan and the new prof. Mind giving us a pass on a verbal assault right after?" Amanda interjected, placing both her hands on each of our shoulders.

She completely ignored Amanda, still looking at me with that angry expression. "This wouldn't have happened if you've made sure your hat was with you." Diana sounded like a concerned parent. And I’m pretty sure that this wouldn't be the last time I'll be hearing any of this. She didn't seem like she was going to stop either. "Or you could've left the rat scurrying on its own. It wouldn't have made so much of a commotion. The entire auditorium was in a state of panic because of the blasts they heard."

"It wasn't a rat. It was a mouse."

Her brow furrowed. Amanda retracted her hands from our shoulders and snapped them at the back of her head as she started to hum a tune.

Okay, the correction was uncalled for but in my defense, they were two totally different familiars.

A groan escaped my lips. "Sorry," I whimpered. I really didn't mean for any of that to happen. I was trying to do the exact opposite of things. Nobody plans on getting punished on the first day of the school year. What happened the prior years were just a fluke or some unlucky turn of events. "It was Sucy's hat anyway. A gift from her siblings, so I can't lose it. Who’d have thought that there would a mouse inside it? I planned to get it back as quick and as quiet as I could but things don’t really turn out the way I expect it to."

She shook her head. "Please make sure this doesn’t happen again. And dragging Amanda int—"

"Hey!" I interrupted her, pointing an accusatory finger towards Amanda standing beside her. "Amanda offered to help! I wouldn't take no for an answer since she's fast with a broom and she’s agile with it too!"

"Holy crap, Kagari," Amanda said, a scowl forming on her face. "That's not how I remembered getting into this mess. You took my broom, told me to shut up and take off! I didn't have a chance to say no!"

"Didn't seem like you had any plans of saying n—"

"Regardless of how Amanda's wound her way into this predicament, you still remain the root cause of it all," Diana shook her head, her arms were crossed as we walked slowly towards our class. It was totally unfair that she's pinning this all on me. That was Sucy's hat; and it was Amanda who drove the broom through the hallways anyway!

"Di—" I whined, about to voice out my concerns, but she interrupted me.

"The moment you set foot in Luna Nova, you've already guaranteed yourself punishment," she said on a lighter tone, less angry and more concerned. She stopped abruptly in the middle of the large hallway. She took my chin by surprise and inspected the bandages I had across the bridge of my nose. I wasn't able to center it properly, so in haste, I just slapped it right across the middle. It stopped bleeding anyway so I must've done it right.

"Ow!" I squirmed under her touch. She pushed my nose bridge a few times and I tried to step back. Her grip was firm on my chin, keeping my head in place as she continued this little observation of hers. But once she started poking around the edges of my swollen nose, the pain drew tears from my eyes. "Hey!" Came my protest. "That hurts, Diana! Cut it out!" My hands were on her wrist pulling her hand away from my face but she wouldn't let me. "Let go!"

"Hold still," she said, her voice calm and her eyes still focused on the center of my face. I felt like a test subject, or a lab rat being observed by this big, mean scientist. "I need to know if it's broken or not," she explained as she placed both her fingers sides of my nose and pressed it down. At the sound of a feint crack, Diana tilted her head. "It's definitely broken," she remarked. Well, my face hitting a marble column from a bad angle would definitely get me more than a bump or a bruise.

Diana then reached out for her wand tucked on her left side then pointed it on my nose bridge. I think I looked silly keeping my focus on the tip of her wand. Amanda was snickering as I glanced at Diana's wand a bit cross-eyed.

" _Repar ósos_."

Light from the tip of her wand circulated around my injury in the form of two, medium sized bubbles. They flitted in the air, taking each a side on my nose before emitting a small, gentle pulse onto my face. After a minute, they both burst in unison, emitting a fading light that blinded me a bit.

There was a slight pang of pain the surged through my entire face but only for a while. My nose felt like it was moving on its own until there was this click in the middle of my face.

I reached out to it with a finger, poking my nose on both sides. There was no pain and the swelling’s gone. Everything seemed in place as I felt around a bit more. "That feels so much better," I said as I exhaled deeply. There was no longer the need for the bandages so I peeled them off and tucked them away in my pocket. "I missed breathing!" I screamed, then inhaled sharply again.

"You're welcome." Diana tucked her wand back and proceeded to walk in the direction of the end of the hall, I followed her not far behind. "You have to be more careful next time."

"I don't really need to be careful when I know that you'll be right there to heal me up!" Diana stopped at my statement, staring me down with a warning before I finally understood that her joke wasn't sitting well with her. Oh crap, now she's going to be in a sour mood.

Amanda let out a small snort from beside me. I looked at her, seeing her covering her mouth then suggestively winking at my direction. "Atta girl," she mouthed to me.

I grabbed her sleeve the second she let out a laugh. She's still taller than me so when I tried to reach for her head, she only needed to lean to the other side to get out of my range, making her impossible to grasp. Our little bickering caught Diana's attention, making her walk faster; leaving the both of us behind.

"Now you got her mad!" I told Amanda, who was still giggling. "Diana! I'm sorry!" I screamed as I ran over to her.

"The both of you are impossible to deal with. Rambunctious, impulsive and cocky. Might as well leave you to the professors to deal with," she said. "Honestly, there's no point in trying to reason with either of you because the moment I turn my back, you end up on each other’s throats."

"That’s the dynamic of our friendship, right Akko?” Amanda said, finally catching up to us as she walked on the other side of Diana. “And you know you can't leave us here ‘cause you love us both." Amanda's arrogance is going to get us in more trouble with Diana. I wanted to shut her up but that would get Diana angry. "Besides, if you leave us now, you're going to be in deep _shit_. Professor Finnelan clearly instructed that _you escort us back to the classroom_. I don't think you’re the type to not follow orders. And I think you can’t trust us loitering around in the halls. You’re too much of a goody-two shoes to let bad-ass students like Akko and I walk through these halls unattended."

I watched Diana wince under Amanda's accusation. But for as long as I've known Diana, Amanda's probably right. Diana wouldn't leave us in a heartbeat since it's an order from the professors.

After a brief moment of silence, she seemed to have calmed down a bit. She took a deep breath, then faced me to ask, "Which reminds me, Akko, how's your Grandmother?"

"She's doing a-okay! Her bumps gone, which is a relief. If Okaa-san hears about that though, I'm screwed. I'm hoping she doesn't mention it. Or see it."

"If she does it’ll be okay. You were able to resolve the situation easily and your grandmother is safe and without injury. So next time, please think about the consequences of your actions. We aren't even supposed to exercise spells in areas where magic is not being practiced."

"I got carried away. There was some magic in the area so might as well test it out, right? Besides, it wasn’t a dangerous spell. Just a metamorphosis spells so there’s really no danger. If I morphed into a dog or a cat, she wouldn’t have fainted." I directed my gaze towards Amanda, who had her hands tucked in her pockets and her attention elsewhere. “Right, Amanda?”

“Don’t you _dare_ drag me into that,” She responded, not even looking at my direction.

"Akko," Diana said again with a disappointed tone. "We're supposed to respect laws and regulations of magic to ensure that we stay out of trouble. The magic you cast, regardless of your intention, still poses a danger to those who do not understand it."

"I won't do it next time," I huffed my cheeks. Geez, I was testing out my magic skills and she’s making it sound like I did something life-threatening. I didn't intend to scare my Obaa-san out of her socks.

“Try to stay out of trouble. You’re fortunate that the faculty was there to prevent any damage your spell could’ve inflicted on anything or anyone.”

"Oh, speaking of the faculty..." I called her attention. “Who’s that new witch?”

“Which one?”

“The really tall one. Black eyes. White complexion, kinda like that a ghost.”

“The one that looks like she’ll suck the soul right out of you.” Amanda added.

"She's the new professor, Ms. Francoise Ricaforte," she answered me before directing her attention towards Amanda. “And that description was uncalled for.”

"I’m telling you the truth here. She's scary and there’s no other word out there to describe her! She really looks like she could eat someone alive and _not_ regret it!" Amanda held her hand out in front of her, palm open and fingers stretched. "Akko’s spell… disappeared right in her hands. Like she caught it. Or absorbed it. I can't explain..." Her voice was wavering. She retracted her hand, hurriedly shoved it in her pocket. "I've never seen anything like that. Teacher's deflect offensive spells using barriers or negation spells… with wands." She shook her head. “Plus, she’s got Akko’s and my record memorized. Talk about super terror…”

"I wouldn't be surprised. Professor Ricaforte's known to have perfected the art of ancient magic and techniques herself. As far as your records go, the both of you are pretty infamous because of your demeanor, it’s likely she’s reviewed it. As expected of the State Secretary of Magical Defense."

"Whhaaaatt!?" Our voices echoed throughout the hallways. No wonder she was so uptight and scary. This was the leader of the Magical Defense of the entire State of Britain. There’s no way she’s going to go easy on us in any way. “Doesn’t she have other things to do? Why would they send someone like a State Secretary to teach in Luna Nova? That’s just crazy!”

Diana shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I've yet to know why, Akko. But I'm more than happy to know she's decided to become part of the Luna Nova Faculty even if it’s just a semester. I’m honored to take a class under her, although a bit disappointing that it’s only _a class_."

Amanda’s look morphed into this same one that I had—confusion. Only Diana was able make attending a class sound exciting. She made it seem like this one was some sort of magic show by Shiny Chariot.

"Uh… which class is this?" I asked Diana, sounding a bit scared as my voice trembled. If Diana had her as a professor, then it meant that I’ll be having her as a professor too.

"Spirits and Demonology, it's listed on the Enrollment Assessment Form." I couldn’t resist to eye-roll at her sarcastic response—even though I knew that she was right. I happen to lose the E.A.F as soon as I got my hands on my copy. "Now come quick, the both of you. Our first period started but if we make haste, we won't be missing much of the lesson."

 


	5. Chapter 5

"…a magic that's been known for centuries. Today, we will be focusing on the basics of Mentalist Magic…"

Arriving a bit late to the class had the three of us scurrying to our respective seats—Diana to the front right side, Amanda to the back left side and myself as dead, front center.

It was impossible not to get the class’ attention, and even though I had my sights set on getting to my seat in front, I could feel everyone’s eyes burning holes at the back of my head. There were even a few girls giggling as I passed them. I tried not to make a sound; concentrating on being sneaky as I walked 15 steps towards the front part of the classroom. But focusing too much on being quiet and getting to my seat fast at the same time made me miss a step. I thought I saved myself from face planting on the ground, but my hand slapping the table right in front of Lotte was loud enough to echo throughout the entire room, catching Professor Danniger and the rest of the class’ attention .

“Sorry,” I mumbled out as I laughed nervously. Trying to play it cool, I took out my notebook and my pen and casually played it out like nothing happened even though the heat building up at my ears would beg to differ.

Once the prof continued to write on the board, I took notes diligently. Usually, the first few classes focused of theories so this class was going to be filled with a bunch of talking and explaining the theories in the school books provided.

But as the lesson progressed, my notes started to become doodles on the edges of my notebook. The teacher’s voice was now some murmured background noise slowly lulling me to sleep. And even though the teacher had written so much on the board for all of us to copy, I found it interesting that the way she dotted her “i” was slanted and slightly off center, like she was always in a rush.

Fighting the urge to yawn was hard. I was seated in the second row, and definitely right in front of Professor Danniger's view. My jaw was already starting to hurt with the amount of yawns that I had suppressed through the class. The only thing that got woke me up from my state was the class bell ringing as I was about to nod off to sleep.

As everyone else was starting to put their things away, Professor Danniger's voice caught our attention.

"Ms. Kagari. Ms. Cavendish." she said. Why in the world would she be calling the both of us out? I tried my best to stay awake anyway. "The class has already paired up with their partners for the rest of the year. Most of the exercises in Mentalist Magic will be done in pairs. And since the both of you missed the earlier parts of my class, the both of you will be paired up with each other."

My mouth dropped.

I swore I heard Amanda's cackling amongst the sound of books and footsteps echoing throughout the room. I couldn’t find her amidst the students moving about in the classroom. _Too bad_ , cause I was ready to run right at her and tackle her to the ground. 

"Yes mam," Diana answered, without a question.

The professor also called Amanda's attention, although I was a bit too busy putting my stuff in my bag to catch what they were talking about. During this time, I haven't noticed that both Diana's roommates made their way towards where I was seated.

"Guess you'll be riding your grades up in this class since you're paired with Diana," Hannah said, wearing a frown as stood in front of me.

"Unfortunately, Diana's grade for the class will also have to suffer. Working with someone like you is definitely going to ruin her perfect record," Barbara added, mimicking the exact same pose Hannah had. “You better step up your game or you’ll have to deal with us.”

They jumped at the sound of my fist hitting the podium. I stood up fast and pointed a finger at Barbara's face, the tip of my finger only a few inches from her nose. "Diana's capable on her own, Barbara! Just because I've got bad grades doesn't mean that I'm stupid!"

“It does. You’re dum—“

“If you cannot say anything to help the situation, might as well keep your words to yourself, Hannah,” Diana said as she stacked her books in order—smallest on top and heaviest at the bottom. She lifted her books before tapping the bottom side of it on top of the podiums surface, getting all of them aligned before tucking them on her right arm.

After that, she faced me. “Although working with you might be quite challenging, I assure you that we'll be able to overcome this. Part of our grade relies on both our efforts.”

Hannah and Barbara backed off, still snickering as they made their way towards Diana's side. I hated it that they'd always pick on my magical abilities. But then again, so does the most of the class. They were just more upfront about it.

"Sure Diana, you can count on me! I’ll do my best!" I replied, slinging my bag on my shoulder. Sucy and Lotte were waiting for me at the door, but before I ran to them, Diana held my shoulder.

"I take my classes seriously, if that isn't apparent enough. We'll be working on our lesson for this class from 7PM to 8PM every Tuesday and Thursday. Do not be late." And with that note, she left.

She didn't stay long enough to see me frown. I’ve always asked her for some tutoring sessions and she’s happy to help but since we’re working on our grade, that’s a totally different story.

Sucy and Lotte were standing by the door still waiting for me. So I packed up my thing as quickly as I could and ran over to them.

"That was incredibly boring," I mumbled. Considering that the class was only an hour long, and we were a bit over fifteen minutes late to it, I felt like I was stuck there for an eternity.

"Hey, at least you stayed awake," Lotte placed a hand on my shoulder. "If you want, I've got notes you can copy. The lesson wasn't that difficult to follow since it's only the first day."

"Nah, don’t worry, Lotte. I didn't sleep in class," sounding a bit annoyed. I had notes. Well, enough notes to cover the entire morning's discussion.

"Then how do you explain the drool off the side of your mouth?" Sucy asked, pointing at the left side of my face. Even though I knew there wasn't anything there, I wiped it off with my sleeve, just in case she was right.

"Oi Sucy, what do you mean I'm drooling! First of all, I didn't fall asleep!"

We bickered on our way to the next class with Lotte trying to calm me down. We arrived at our next classroom early, with 5 minutes to spare, but every other seat was taken. We didn't have a choice but to occupy the first three seats free in front. Sucy took the one nearest the window with Lotte sitting right next to her. The only one left was the one right in the middle.

Since this was a standard classroom, we had armchairs instead of shared desks facing the chalkboard. The space in between the seats were a lot more narrow, making it hard to walk around since almost everyone's bags were either on the floor or hanging on one side of the chair.

"Hey Sucy," I called out to her, trying to reach her shoulder but Lotte was standing in the way. "Trade seats, please?"

She shook her head, not even looking up from her seat.  "We're late because of you. You're staying there."

"But I want the window seat." No way was I going to stay right under the professor's nose. This was dead front and center. Only a crazy person would want to sit here. But even if I tried to bully her into saying yes, she stayed still, completely ignoring my cries and pleas.

The room quieted down at the door opening and closing followed by the sound of familiar heels clicking on the wooden floor.

I was having a bit of trouble slinging my bag over the side of my back rest since my bag kept slipping. After a few failed attempts, I quit. Shoving it under my chair was the only option so I did. My eyes darted forward at the tap of a hand on the chalkboard.

If I only took Diana's advice to check out either Sucy or Lotte’s E.A.F, then I wouldn't have been surprised which class we were in right now. The only reason I'm in the right room was because I've followed the both Sucy and Lotte. I didn't even know what class I was going to next.

It's the State Secretary herself. She had five feathers perched at the top of her hat—Principal Holbrooke only had _three_. She had a few of her jet black strands peeking from the sides of the brim, the rest of her hair hidden underneath.

One look at her and my stomach dropped.

"Good morning class," she said, her pointed chin held up high like some snooty, aristocratic lady. "I am Francoise Ricafort and welcome to your Spirits and Demonology Class. We will be tackling the different magical entities present in the world we live in and I will be teaching you the basics on how to deal with them." She held her hands up, scanned the entire room before snapping her fingers. In that moment, the empty blackboard had her name neatly written under the course name.

"I expect all of you to participate and behave during my class. Any form of interruption and you will be punished. No excuses will be entertained."

The entire classroom was filled with whispering.

There was this atmosphere around her that wouldn’t even give me any breathing space. Like the whole air around me was heavy, weighing down on my shoulders, my back and my arms.

Curiosity got the best of me. I needed to know if what I saw in front of me was real. It took a few ‘ _psst’_ to catch Lotte’s attention. Once she faced me I mouthed to her, “Was she using a wand?”

Lotte responded with shrug. She looked just as surprised as I did. "Maybe her wand's somewhere? I didn't notice it, Akko."

"Ms. Kagari, I'd appreciate it if you kept your mouth zipped and your eyes front. Although I prefer to think of my students as diligent and obedient, your little disaster this morning with Ms. O'niell makes me wary of you."

Another flick of her wrist and I heard Amanda yelped. Everyone in class looked back to see her phone dangling on top of her.

This time, it was obvious. She was using magic without a wand.

"I'm letting you off with a warning, Miss O'niell. You're not doing yourself any justice." She spat out, though her face remained calm. "Let this be a warning to all of you. Anyone I catch doing anything unrelated to my class will be excused for the rest of the semester and will receive a zero on this course."

The whispers of the class died down instantly, replaced with a brief noise of chairs being dragged across the floor and notebooks flipping.

A small, satisfactory smile crept up on her face as she snapped her fingers again, dropping Amanda’s phone onto her head without warning. I would’ve laughed at her if I wasn’t frozen in fear to do so.

"Now, we begin."

* * *

 

The bell rung and everyone was finally able to breathe once Professor Ricaforte stepped out of the classroom. We made our way quickly to the cafeteria after that.

We sat on our usual spot near the window. Sucy had her usual serving of mushroom soup, Lotte with her cabbage rolls and I got the usual potato dish on the menu.

"Have you decided what elective you’re taking?"

"Combat Magic." I said, not even looking up from my food.

"Really Akko?" Lotte sounded a bit concerned. "Are you sure you'd want to take that class? It's more physical than the rest of the other electives." She was scratching the back of her neck. "Why not take the advance course on Magic Philosophy? I heard Professor Pisces is handling it again."

"I've had my share of bumps and bruises before. I think I can handle it. Besides, I'd still want Chariot to be my Professor. Don't get me wrong, I love Professor Pisces. But Chariot is still Shiny Chariot!" I said, scooping a spoonful of food and flashing a knowing smile towards Lotte. The thought of enrolling in a class knowing that the Shiny Chariot is my professor made the little girl in me giddy.

I loved the idea of attending another class under Chariot. I've loved her as Shiny Chariot and even more as my professor. So, it was the obvious choice to take the elective that she was teaching.

“I know you’re stubborn but Combat Magic isn’t something you should be taking up if you aren’t an athlete. Or if you plan on going into the military.”

I couldn’t believe that the both of them are so against my choice. It’s not that I willing wanted to learn about Combat Magic and use its application outside the university. “This is Chariot, Sucy! _The_ Shiny Chariot! We don’t have a class under her this year and this is the only chance I get to have her teach me one for our last year.”

“Suit yourself,” Sucy said. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re diving headfirst into a year full of headaches and pain.”

“I bet this is nothing compared to all your illegal experiments on me,” I retorted. That’ll shut her up.

Sucy shrugged, finally looking at me. “You’re still insane. Three years and you’re still stubborn. The only growth you’ve had is that you’ve gotten _more_ stubborn from last year.”

“Be careful, Akko. Combat Magic’s hard on the muscles and to pass the class takes a lot of practice,” Lotte said right after, placing a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face her. “If anything happens or things go bad, please remember that we’re here, right Sucy?”

She didn’t answer but she let off a small smile.

“I’ll be fine so don’t worry about me too much. How bad is Combat Magic anyway?”

We finished up our meals before we parted ways. Sucy took another Alchemy elective and Lotte taking up a course on Magic Business.

I had to rush back to the dorm to change into my P.E. uniform. I thought at first that it was unnecessary since most subjects focus on theory, or cruise by the basics first before doing any sort of application. So after the usual short introductions, sending us to do laps around the oval track caught the entire class completely by surprise.

"That's all you'll be doing the entire session. Each class will start with everyone completing the necessary cardio exercise. If you do finish earlier than the class time, come see me. I'll be waiting right here," were the last words she'd said before she blew the whistle hanging from her neck.

"Whaaat?!" I screamed, nearly falling off the bleachers. "But Professor Ch—"

"Ursula, Akko. It's Professor Ursula." she corrected, putting her hands on her hips as she faced the class. She held up 4 fingers. "4 laps around the oval is roughly 5 kilometers. And everyone in this class is expected to run that distance at the start of the class. Should any of you fail to complete the required distance per day, the remainder will be added to the next session."

I'd never take Professor Chariot as a gym teacher of sorts since she's always been so quiet and reserved. This is probably the first time I've seen her teach a class outside a classroom. I'm still getting used to seeing her in a tracksuit with a whistle hanging around her neck.

"I think I can finish this in forty minutes top—"

"You ain't got nothing on Russeau! She'll finish this faster than you!"

"Could you guys keep it down? I don't want to be part of your little bet, please..."

"It's ‘cause she's got legs longer than the wide side of a barn. Plus, that weird wolf-lion spirit's got her back. No one can beat that."

The sound of the whistle silenced us, stopping the commotion happening at the back.

They were impossible to miss. They stood tall, their faces unobstructed by the twenty or more students standing in front of them.

"Estelle, Florence and Althea," Professor Chariot crossed her arms, dropping the whistle to hang on her neck. The three goofballs quarreling at the back stopped bickering and stood straight, dropping their expressions as they faced Chariot. "I'd like to remind you that this isn't a race. We're here to train your body to handle magic for long periods of time in a physical setting. The only performance you should be focusing on is your own."

She scribbled something on the clipboard. "I'll be calling your names to group you into five, okay? At the sound of my whistle, you will start running and I'll be calling the next group of names until the entire class has been called. Remember, it isn't necessary that you finish first. You just have to finish, alright? This is our first class anyway."

Professor Chariot went through the list alphabetically, and it took at least three groups until she called my name. It wasn't a long wait, but everyone who wasn't being called were either daydreaming or talking amongst themselves.

"I'm still racing you," said the smallest of the three troublemakers. She had this perpetual smile plastered on her face, directing it at the other girl. "Watch me beat Estelle even with her beast."

"Tough luck short stuff. You can't even keep up with my time."

The tallest one of them answered, her face scrunched up with her arms crossed. "Stop it, the both of you," sounding annoyed. She pushed her glasses up her nose before redoing her ponytail. "I'm not going to get caught up in this quarrel of yours. Professor Ursula’s already called us out so please stop."

"Who cares? You're going down.”

After a few minutes and a few names called, it was my turn to start running. I started with a good pace, keeping up with the other girls that started with me, but as I rounded the corner, I lost speed.

And it was only a matter of time that everyone was getting ahead of me. I chose to ignore them, trying hard to finish the distance without losing much focus.

But what snapped me out of my concentration was a pair of steps that didn't seem like it was coming from two feet alone. It was pretty soft, nearly impossible to catch if the surroundings were a bit noisier. But I swore I heard the sound of 4, almost rhythmic steps that matched the strides I was hearing.

The wind blew past me, nearly knocking me down in the process. When I regained my balance, that tall girl with the long, black wavy hair passed me. I think her name was Estelle?

I wasn't sure if it was because I was tired, or thirsty. But when she ran ahead of me, there was a faint outline of a four legged creature. From the back, it was massive, the top of its head only slightly shorter than the girl it was running with. And its tail was long and thick, riding the wind as they ran past me. I had to stop to make sure but as I blinked to get a better look, whatever I saw was disappeared.

I couldn’t lose my focus now. It was tough, but after at least fifty minutes, I was able to set foot on the finish line. Catching what was left of my breath and standing strong was so hard, especially with my knees already jelly and about a step away from giving up.

 _Walk it off. Bite your lip. Keep a straight face._ There's a bench past the corner and it's not that far. I kept saying this in my head, just to make sure I didn’t fall forward or lose consciousness.

On my way to the corner, I heard the bell ring and relief washed over me. The class was over. _Yay!_

My shirt was completely drenched in my own sweat and my feet were like boulders that I couldn’t move. Not only that, I couldn’t even steady my breathing, panting like a dog on a hot day. I couldn't let Chariot see me like this. The bleachers behind the field would hide me from the rest of the class, so I made my way there as fast as I could.

I rounded the corner and let out an exasperated sigh. It hurt everywhere, even in body parts I didn't even know I had.

The bench was definitely the most relieving part of this entire session even though it burned the part of my thigh that was exposed. Never in my life had I missed sitting down— _or breathing_ —so much.

"Are you hiding from me, Akko?" I jerked and turned towards the right end of the bleachers. She was there without warning; without her glasses and her auburn locks tied up in a messy bun. I didn't even know how she got there without passing right in front of me. Either that or I was too tired to notice.

I wasn't hiding from her. Well, that’s what I wanted her to think. "I was just …catching my breath? There wasn’t an empty space on the bleachers over there so I went straight here!"

She answered me with a reassuring smile. I guess she knew exactly how I was feeling. It took her years of training to get in tip-top physical shape, and I'm sure she's experienced the same set of pains.

It didn't look like I was fooling her one bit. My breathing was too deep and it looked like I was certainly enjoying the fact that I'd finally sat down after running. "That was hard," my muscles were aching, and I was applying pressure to my thighs simultaneously to relieve myself a bit. "I never knew magic needed this sort of physical training. I was thinking maybe we only had to lift things and do small sprints."

She laughed as she sat beside me.

"Combat magic is different since its strength comes from how much magical energy you can channel and control with your own physical limitations. You'll have stronger attacks if you'll be able to take and control more magical energy." She handed me a bottle of water. I was hesitant to take it at first but I was parched. "Why did you even choose combat magic as your elective? It doesn't seem like something you'd go for. I'm honestly surprised you're here."

"Oh, cause you're teaching it!" I said excitedly before drinking half the contents of the bottle in one big gulp. The world may think that Shiny Chariot's just a fad, but in my heart, she'll always be my hero.

I must've sounded stupid. But she didn't seem to mind. Come to think of it, I've never seen her not believing in anyone. “…And I still wanted to have you as my professor on my last year here. Going to Luna Nova without my favorite professor teaching any of my classes doesn’t seem right at all.”

She patted my head, “Oh Akko.”

Shiny Chariot’s always been my idol and probably the only source of my motivation to continue pursuing magic. Not only that, she’s one really great teacher too. “I’m still years from being you though. But I swear that one day, I'll be just like you! Spreading the joy of magic in people's hearts!"

"I'm sure you'll get better at handling magic with all this determination in you. There isn't a thing you've achieved because you haven't set your heart on. You’ve grown a lot in the past two years and with what I’ve witnessed, you can be anything you want to be. All you have to do is put enough time and effort into it."

I sighed. "This time it's tougher," I said. This was just the first of many trainings I had to do. Thinking about how much I had to do to catch up with her, more weights to lift, and more training sessions to endure. More running around the oval under this heat— _ugh_.

Endless training to strengthen my muscles for magic never occurred to me. I've never even engaged in any form of exercise willingly. Walking to the market on weekends with my mother and climbing trees when I was younger was fun since it was a past time.

 "How do you do it?" I asked. "How do you wake up every day to train?"

She looked at me a bit confused. "Well…"

Her eyes moved from my own to the far side of the field. "I've always loved magic, in all forms. And bringing joy into people's hearts was my motivation. But I couldn't really put on a _spectacular_ magic show if I wasn't capable of wielding _spectacular_ magic, right?"

Oh, that made sense.

“You know what would’ve been so much cooler?”

Her mouth formed an “o” at what I said, urging me to continue with my rambling.

“If you could’ve done all your magic without the Shiny Rod! Just like Professor Ricaforte,” my voice wavered when I said her name. She’s really scary, but commanding magic without a wand, now that’s a skill that’s awesome. “Kinda cool that she can do that.”

"That's true, it is extraordinary to see it firsthand." Her finger stroking her chin. "It's not unheard off since it's an archaic technique. No one’s applying it considering its difficulty and wands are much simpler to use. Plus, it’s less dangerous."

"Never thought anyone could do that. If witches could do that then there would be no need to carry wands around. I tend to lose mine a lot," I laughed nervously. "Even the other Professor use some sort of wand to channel magic. Even Headmistress Holbrooke, if that counts as a wand."

"I've come across wandless magic during my research, but I haven't delved into it that much since it's an ancient art. Back when magic was much more abundant, witches and wizards were able to cast spells using their own physiques but since magic’s decline, wands gave magic users much more stable control. I'm surprised someone as young as Ms. Francoise is able to execute that technique flawlessly."

"I know. And she's got a temper to match that great skill of hers." I puffed my cheeks up. I’m still mad that she gave me punishment right off the bat.

Stifling a giggle was never a strong suit for Professor Chariot. "Now, now Akko. I'd say Professor Ricaforte saved both you and Ms. O'niell from a dire situation. An accident could've happened if she didn't absorb your spell."

”She could’ve just warned us and not send us to the principal’s office. I’m going to be doing some weird punishment at the start of the year," I huffed again, crossing my arms this time as I thought back to the incident. "That technique though, you think I can learn it? Try to do magic without a wand?"

"If Ms. Francoise's able to learn it, I'm sure anyone can if they put their mind and effort into it." Her hand on my shoulder was comforting. "Anything can be achieved with the proper knowledge and a lot of practice."

"So I can, right?" I said a bit too eagerly, jumping a bit from the bleachers.

She let out a giggle. "You'll have to be able to do laps around the oval first without _nearly_ collapsing. Then maybe, we can work on that."

I let out a huge disappointed sigh. “How do I get to be as strong and as fast as you? Running that far is too hard.”

She must've noticed my dismay since she reached out to put a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, Akko. You've done a lot of things you've put your mind to! Think of this as your stepping stone to become a much greater witch than you are right now."

Her smile had always been encouraging to me, even way before she was my teacher. And she's right. I've always accomplished things I put my mind too. And learning new techniques and task are no different from anything else.

"Trying to get in shape boils down to determination and discipline. It takes years to get into a good physical condition. All you need is to get into the right sets of habit and everything else will follow through.” She paused, checking out the rest of the students on the other side of the field before turning back to me. “To be able to run that far without faltering, try to run shorter distances first every morning. Then add to it bit by bit. Soon enough, running that far will be too easy for you.”

“I don’t have any time though. I have to study at night.”

“Well, your mornings are free. Classes don’t start until 8:00.”

“But what about my sleep? I’ll have to wake up early?”

“It’s a decision you’ll have to make. You can get up early and jog a few rounds—with me—or you could sleep in.” She put her hand on my head, smiling at me. “I’m sure whatever you choose, it’s what’s right for you.”

Of course the _only_ reasonable choice was to wake up early to jog with her. I’m going to have to sacrifice hours of sleep so that I can be the best magical entertainer out there. To be exactly like Chariot is to train like her too!

“The choice is pretty simple to make, professor.” I flashed her the biggest grin I could muster. “I’ll see you here tomorrow morning, 6AM sharp!”

 


	6. Chapter 6

First day of training with Chariot didn’t really go so well.

For one, I slept through the 6 alarms I’ve set. It was only when Sucy woke up and nearly suffocated me to death with her pillow that I finally got out of bed. And at that time, I had at only 10 minutes to change and show up.

Professor Chariot wasn’t kind at all, not even giving me any breaks from being late on the first day. I had to do 10 burpees—which I’ve never heard of up until now— multiplied by the number of minutes I missed. It took time since I was out of breath in the middle of the first set but after I did that last one, she gave me a few seconds to rest before we went towards the oval.

I was already out of breath, but Professor Chariot still jogged by my side even when I was slowing down. Every time I’d try to stop she’d pushed me a bit forward, saying encouraging things like, “Don’t stop now!” or, “You can do it! Take it a step at a time!”

It was hard to give up when someone like her wouldn’t allow me to quit. My legs were already aching before the start of our jogging session. During the actual rounds, my legs started to numb.

I thought that maybe this time it would’ve been easier. Jogging the day before was tiring so this time around, it wouldn’t be that exhausting. Boy, was I wrong. This was just as horrible as the jogging rounds the day before.

Once we crossed our marker, I slowed down, turning towards the direction of the middle of the field and collapsed backward onto the grass. I didn’t care if it was dirty or not, my body was begging for rest. The sun was already up in the sky and was pretty blinding so I closed my eyes.

There was this slight thud beside me, followed by a giggle. It sounded like Professor Chariot either sat or laid down beside me. I didn’t bother opening my eyes, I was much too focused on my own breathing to check.

“That was a great run, don’t you say?”

How does she even do it? She didn’t even seem out of breath and here I was trying to catch my own.

“I’ll get back up I swear.” I said out of breath. “Just. 5. More. Minutes.”

She didn’t mind, giving me time to recuperate. That actually felt more than the five minutes that I begged for. I peeked to the side, seeing her inch over to me.

“Let’s stretch you out to cool you down. Or else your muscles are going to suffer, alright?”

I nodded, still keeping my eyes closed.

She guided my arms and my legs, stretching parts of my body I never knew I had. It was hard yet relaxing at the same time especially since my limbs wouldn’t stretch as far; I couldn’t even touch my toes. After a few minutes of those, she patted my back which I took as a sign that the cool down was over. I lay flat back on the ground again.

“So, what are you thinking? I find it odd that you haven’t said a single word the entire time you’ve laid on the grass. You didn’t even say a word to me the entire time I was stretching you.”

I chuckled, who could talk after that anyway? The only thing on my mind was to rest. “There’s going to be more of this tomorrow,” I said as I exhaled deep. My lungs were already burning and it’s only 7 in the morning. “I’m so screwed.”

“Take a quick shower and you’ll be refreshed. Don’t forget to drink some water. I’ll see you here tomorrow,” she said, offering a hand to help me up.

She looked like she was about to say something but we were both stopped at the sound of a small, distant bell sound coming from the south entrance of the school. Looking over, we spot that tall, lanky classmate of mine about to go in.

“That’s weird,” I said, looking over to Professor Chariot. “Where’d she come from? She looks dirtied up.”

Her lips drew a thin line, looking sharply at her. “Never you mind, Akko.” She stood up, extending an arm towards me, which I took to help me stand. “Best be off now. You’ll be late to your first class if you hung around here a bit longer.”

After waving goodbye to her, I darted towards my dorm. My muscles were sore, and the thought of me getting used to this didn’t seem believable. She was right about the shower though. It was enough to keep me awake for a good 30 minutes, the rest of the day however, my muscles were burning. And even in this cold weather, I was sweating buckets.

* * *

There was nothing more tiring than getting through 7 hours of nothing but lessons, lessons and _more lessons_. This year was a lot tougher than the previous ones especially since most of the classes were advanced than its prerequisites—as what Diana said. Nothing that a little bit of studying and practice won’t fix, right?

Maybe for everyone else, they could manage it. But not for me. After classes, I’m stuck doing my time for punishment since that mean Professor didn’t let me and Amanda off the hook. Everyone else had the time. I didn’t.

The faculty decided to split Amanda and me to lower the chances of us causing chaos around school.

I’ve already completed 4 hours out of the 15 hours of my punishment; which were as simple as detention and helping out with the faculty’s clerical work like sorting files and being their personal runner for errands. This was nothing I haven’t done before.

Today, however, Professor Finnelan had this stroke of genius to change it. They’re still lacking in people in the cleaning department and it’s not keeping up with the increase of enrollments.

 _So today,_ I was in charge of cleaning the courtyard while Amanda was in charge of organizing the broom closet. And we had to do it without the help of magic.

It was approaching dusk at that time, and I’ve never hated the sun setting so much. The winds blew a bit harder, sending the leaves that I’ve swept from one side all across the entire yard again. It made me grit my teeth, giving me the urge to throw the rake I had in my hand on the floor and scream.

I was about to do, if it weren’t for Sucy and Lotte walking out the entrance that caught my eye.

“You’re still here? Amanda’s finished cleaning up and it looks like you haven’t even—”

“This is all your fault, Sucy!” I said as I raised an accusatory finger at her. I wouldn’t have been given this punishment if she didn’t have put that mouse in that hat. And now, she’s laughing at my unlucky streak. “Besides, Amanda’s only got a few brooms to fix and clean up. The courtyards a different thing! It’s way bigger than the broom closet!”

“It’s okay. We came by to check up on you. I was starting to get worried since Amanda’s done and you haven’t returned to the room. It’s nearing supper time,” Lotte said.

“Yeah.” I answered, sounding defeated. My shoulder was aching from too much moving, and thinking about waking up for a run tomorrow morning was starting to sound impossible—also the fact that I didn’t want to disappoint Chariot was weighing on it too. Plus, my stomach rumbled at the mention of supper. “Stupid wind keeps blowing away the leaves every time I pile them up. I have to redo everything. This is like, the third time I had to do everything again.”

“Why aren’t you putting them in the sacks when you gather them up? It’ll make things easier for you.” Lotte asked, pointing towards the big black folded plastic bags on the side of the fountain. It was easier to gather the leaves into one area first, then put them in the bags after everything’s been swept.

“I thought it would be faster if I put everything in one spot first then do the sack thing later. Stupid wind keeps blowing them away though before I get all the leaves in one place,” I said, crossing my arms.

“Oh Akko.” She shook her head. “You let your temper get in the way of your thinking again.”

She pointed that out and paired with Sucy’s small giggle, this creeping feeling of shame coursed through my veins. My hand shot up towards the back of my head, and the only thing I could mutter was a small, “...eh..”

Lotte sighed as she took closer steps toward me, Sucy following right after her.

“These leaves are sooooooo annoying! I wish I could just make them disappear!”

“Akko.” Lotte’s voice obviously trying to calm me down. “We’ll sweep them all together, that way it’ll be faster.”

“Or we could burn them with fire. That’s how we do it back at home.” Sucy suggested which earned her a confused look from Lotte and myself. “It’s faster. And it gets rid of all of the leaves easily.”

“You forgot dangerous,” Lotte snapped at Sucy to which she replied with a shrug.

“Obviously. What’s fire without its danger?”

“I think I can make a fire. Will it work?” The idea of it— _fast and easy_ —was a pretty good solution to all the leaves.

“Akko,” Lotte warned me.

Instead, Sucy gave me a thumbs up. “I don’t see how it won’t.”

“Sucy!”

But we kept ignoring her, continuing our conversation as though she wasn’t even there with us.

“Back in Elementals, you remember?” I faced Sucy since she was the one beside me back in class. “Pyrokinesis was such an amazing topic! I haven’t found any use of our lessons there but this seems like the best opportunity to use it!”

Sucy stifled a laugh. “That one subject I thought you’d burn your arms off. It’s impressive that you’re still alive. Couldn’t say the same for the tables though. Diana had to step in and clean up your mess.”

“GUYS!”

That screamed jilted the both of us, finally looking at her at the same time.

“Akko, you’re digging your own grave. Don’t you want to stay out of trouble?” She asked me, sounding really concerning before turning around to face Sucy. “And Sucy, you know it’s dangerous to be playing with fire! Akko’s magic control isn’t stable and we’ll definitely be in harm's way! The risk of starting a fire on school grounds—”

“Well, what if we didn’t do it on school grounds?”

It was my turned to be judged. The both of them looking at me like I was some sort of stupid person. But it wouldn’t be wrong to practice it outside school grounds right? And it’ll be far away from school, less chances of people getting injured.

“Will you please listen to me, guys? Might I remind you that the last time we let Akko alone with her ideas is what got her in this mess in the first place.” She faced me. “I’m not letting you set anything on fire, on school grounds or not. Besides, it’s illegal to—”

“I know.” I crossed my arms, puffing up my cheeks.

“Where are we going to put these after we’re done?” Sucy asked.

This one I could recall from the earlier meeting I had with Ms. Ricaforte since she kept repeating it every minute. “I’m supposed to drop them off at the compost area where the garbage is. The pixies will take care of them and we won’t experience any trouble with it. We should be done in 30 minutes, enough time to get back to the canteen to eat.”

“Yeah. Better finish this quick. I still have to review for tomorrow’s class,” said Sucy.

The leaves weren’t going to go anywhere so I started to sweep them towards the fountain as Sucy took one bag to open it up. Lotte gathered the leaves and placed them inside.

It took a while but after the courtyard look clean enough, we had at least 4 bags full. Lotte, despite being so tiny, hauled the first bag over her shoulder and motioned for us to follow her. Sucy took the other bag, leaving me with the remaining two.

At first I thought it was unfair that I’d be carrying the two bags but then this was my punishment anyway. I’m more than happy enough that both of them extended some help to finish this before dinner started.

We went around the corner, seeing nothing else but a lone gremlin walking towards the back door of the school.

“Hey Mister!” I screamed, getting him to look at us. “Where do we put this?”  

He pointed at the small, locked-up shed at the corner of the yard.

“Beside it?” I asked only to be answered with a wave.

He grumbled, then said something slurred that sounded like a bunch of grunts and huffs. Sucy looked my way to which I replied with a shoulder shrug. Lotte, however, kept her focus on the gremlin before nodding him off.

“He’s going to get the keys from the other groundskeeper,” Lotte said, facing us. “We’re going to have to wait for him.”

“How are you able to get that from all that?” I questioned, my face scrunched up.

She gave me a small smile, walking towards this little patch of grass with a log on the left side. “We have some gremlins working at the shop from time to time. You pick up their speech after a few years.”

Lotte sat herself on one of the bigger rocks near the area, Sucy standing right by her. Around five minutes into waiting, I was getting impatient. That gremlin was taking forever!

“You guys. While waiting for him, I have an idea!” Sucy groaned at my declaration, but I ignored her. “I can put up a show to pass the time!”

“This better not be trouble. If we get caught helping you, we’re going to be punished too and I still have to gather some ingredients for my Potions elective after class.”

“It isn’t! I’ve been working on this magic routine since last year. I’m trying to imitate Shiny Chariot’s show in Japan! It’s the first one I saw and I think I have it down. All I need is an audience to see if I’m making any mistakes.”

“This _sounds_ like a big mistake.” Leave it to Sucy to never believe in anything I do.

They both sat down, Lotte’s eyes a bit worried while Sucy flashed another deadpan look. “Let’s see what you got,” she said.

My wand nearly fell off as I yanked it from my belt. “I’m gonna start with the entrance! Wait for me over there!” I ran off behind a nearby tree, making sure they couldn’t see.

It’s always been her first show that find myself thinking back to. No one’s clearly appreciated Chariot if they’ve never seen her magic up close and personal. I can’t recall when I did start to idolize her but I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember. Her magic, her dream to put smiles on everyone’s faces—I loved her long enough to make her dream the same as my own.

Lights, flashes, huge illusions and big monsters, all making her up to be the star of her own story. Magic’s always had this some sort of enchanting thing going on that makes everything feel so exciting and it’s given Chariot this image of such a great powerful hero. Fighting every show for those beaming smiles.

Even though almost every witch calls her some flashy witch. But she isn’t. Well, she’s more than just an entertainer. She inspires kids, _kids like me_ , to believe in their own power & their own strengths. Kids who grow up to become heroes to their own stories. Like Diana, for instance!

And I’ve never lost hope in her. The news of her disappearing without a trace really killed me inside but that’s never stopped me from admiring her. She’s still the reason I’m in this school in the first place.

That’s why her Japan performance will be the first one I’ll perform.

Deep breath, and calm down. Before I started, I had to make sure to channel the right spell. But as I was about to cast my first illusion spell, a rustling of leaves caught my attention, taking away my focus from the spell towards the trees at the back.

“Hello?”

But even when I asked, there was no reaction to it which got me worried. The thought of maybe an injured creature or person was here rushed through my head, totally forgetting that Sucy and Lotte were with me. What if it needed help? What if it’s badly wounded? What if it’s a fellow student?

“I’m here to help!”

Walking further into the forest made me squint my eyes. It was hard to see through the dark—I could only see as far as the night sky could light up. There was no way to see whatever it was that was lurking in the shadows. The moon’s light was not strong enough to go past the treetops.

Another round of leaves rustled, but this time coming from the top. There was nothing there though, and even if I tried to look for signs that something was, all I saw were leaves and the night sky.

 _There’s nothing there_ , that’s for sure so I made my way back to the clearing where I came from. Following back this small light coming from the academy’s tower was my only waypoint back.

I didn’t notice that I had walked a bit deep into the forest following the sound. It took a while until a got to a familiar place with some trees and stones that I recognized. 

It would’ve only took a few more steps until I reached the area, but something stopped me dead in my tracks.

Whatever it was, it stood in front. Although I could barely see anything in the dark, I was sure that this thing was big, like _really big_ that it’s silhouette was matching the height of the trees not far behind. It took one look at me with its bright, red eyes and bared its fangs, a low growl escaping its mouth.

Wand in hand, releasing a beam or a spell would’ve solved the problem instantly. But when I pointed my wand towards it, it released a huge roar that froze me in my tracks, blowing my hair back.

I still couldn’t understand how I couldn’t move at that moment even though my legs were ready to run away. My heart was beating so fast and at that time, the only thought that ran through my mind was that if I didn’t get out of there— _out of that things reach_ —I was dead.

There was this whoosh that went by me and in an instant, it’s breathing right beside my right ear. Its breath was hot, creeping down the back of my neck and I couldn’t even find the strength in me to move. The blood in my veins ran cold as my hands stiffened; the fingers on my hand curled around my wand like petrified wood.

It’s breathing at my back as it inched closer, and its cold nose grazed the side of my neck and the only thing I could think off was...

I’m so dead.

Some stroke of luck I had when I heard all these array of noises—one of them a couple of hurried footsteps—coming my way. The creature back down and disappeared back deeper into the forest before I could even react, leaving with a strong gust of wind that knocked me down to the ground.

“Akko!”

“Akko, where are you?!”

“Akko?” Someone was calling my name from afar, and for sure it was Lotte and Sucy coming out to look for me. I was right when I saw the both of them peek their heads through one of the trees. “Akko? Akko! What happened to you! The groundskeeper returned and you disappeared”

“Guys!” I was finally able to move, scrambling over to them with my hands waving in the air, not even bothering to straighten out my rumpled skirt. I was frantic, nearly falling down since I tripped over a rock on the way to them. “Y-you guys saw that, right? Or heard that, right?”

“Saw what? There’s nothing to see,” said Sucy. “Or hear.”

“That…” At that time, it wasn’t clear what I saw. That growl and that roar didn’t sound like any animal I knew, and I’m sure that wasn’t a person. “...thing?”

“What thing?” She continued to question me, sounding more confused than earlier.

“There was this…” It’s hard to remember a creature I haven’t seen in the dark. “It had fangs and red eyes. Scary, blood red eyes. It’s big! Like, really big!”

“That’s informative. Narrows it down to at least 85% of all evil, magical beasts listed in the library.”

As much as I wanted to bop Sucy in the head with the nearest rock I could pick up, she was right. There wasn’t much description I could give them that would help in any way. Regardless of what it was, it’s felt dangerous and I knew it.

As if on cue, there was this howl not far from us, piercing into our ears as the three of us, causing all of our hands to shoot up to our ears.

“That was loud,” Sucy commented, looking towards the direction the howl came from.

“That thing,” I said with a quivering voice. “Whatever made that noise. I’m sure of it.”

“Let’s get out of here guys. It doesn’t feel safe anymore. It might try to eat us alive,” Lotte said, looking back at me.

“Try? It _almost_ ate me alive! We have to tell someone that there’s this creature lurking out here. We could all be in danger.”

“It might be one of the local wolves. I know there are wolves in the area, so maybe one of them wandered too close to the school grounds,” Sucy followed Lotte, me not far behind the two of them.

“I know what a wolf looks like and that was too big to be one. Didn’t you hear that howl? That doesn’t sound like a wolf, right?” They both looked at each other before nodding at me. “That’s something else. We have to warn the school.”

“Who are we going to tell? Professor Ursula is out running errands again,” Lotte said, sounding worried.

“We can always tell Professor Finnelan. Or Headmistress Holbrooke! Professor Lukcic or anyone...”

“That’s isn’t the best idea Akko. The professor’s don’t really take any of your word seriously. Plus, they’re definitely going to ask what you’re doing in the middle of the forest at this time of night.” Sucy said. Her accusations riled me up but I had to agree with her.

“Yeah, but they might be able to trust the both of you right?” I asked, still determined not to let this event slip. “They’ll believe you guys! Get anyone to hear you out, I’m sure they’ll listen to you!”

Lotte huffed, tipping her glasses before looking at me. “I-I guess we could try.”

“You guys go and find the other professors, okay? I have someone in mind who can help us out.”

They nodded in agreement.

Once we reached the entrance of the building, they darted straight towards the professor’s offices. I went the other way, running towards the only person I knew would be able to assist us in this situation.

Once I was standing outside the door, I knocked on it continuously and as loudly as I could. The door opened, Hannah’s head popping from its opened side, with her brows furrowed and a frown on her lips once she saw me.

“Where’s Diana?” I asked in a panicked tone.

“I don’t know.” came Hannah’s snarky response. “Leave her alone, Akko. She’s probably studying and she isn’t going to waste any time on you.”

“Quit it, I need to ask her something important.” Hannah still refused to answer. I looked at Barbara, “Come on, is she here? I really need to talk to her.”

She completely ignored me, crossing her arms and looking the other way.

That was it. If they weren’t going to be of any help, might as well look for Diana myself. There was no way that Diana was anywhere but in her room. Diana doesn’t do late nights at the study hall or the library on a school night. Hannah and Barbara are trying to get me to leave, I was sure of it.

”Diana?” I stepped inside their room, knocking Hannah back a bit as she stood by the door.

I was relieved to see Diana peeking from the side of her bookcase. “Oh, Akko? What brings you here?”

“I need your help.” I walked towards her. “You see, there’s this big monster lurking outside the school. I think it’s going to kill us al—.”

I was interrupted immediately by a bout of laughter coming from Diana’s roommates. “There are monsters around here, you know that?” Barbara said, shaking her head as she continues to snicker. “We’re in a magically _dense_ area, there’s definitely some magical creatures living along the outskirts!”

“Guys, I’m serious! It wasn’t just a small monster we can take care off. It’s not a dragon, a faerie or a centaur! I talking like huge, gigantic killer type one!  It had red eyes and I don’t think I’ve seen or read about anything like this before!”

“Anything _you’ve_ seen,” Hannah said, crossing her arms, snickering right after. “The world of magic’s different behind your eyes. I bet Fafnir’s the first dragon you’ve ever witnessed.”

I was about to reach out to her and strangle her but Diana’s hand on my shoulder got me to back down.

“Have you told the professor’s about it?” She didn’t even react to the situation, her voice remained steady and calm.

I nodded. “Lotte and Sucy are on their way now. I came here to see you as fast as I could.”

“Then this is settled. As long as the faculty knows about it, this danger you speak off will be dealt with accordingly.”

“So, what are we going to do now?”  

“We wait. They know what—“

“We can’t leave this like this! We have to do something!” I stomped my foot. Sure the teachers are aware now but we couldn’t leave everything to them. “Diana! The whole school’s gonna be in danger if we sit around and wait! That’s a stupid plan.”

“The school’s going to be in trouble if we step in. Don’t underestimate our faculty, Akko. They’re more than capable of keeping this school intact.”

“Didn’t seem like it the past two years.” I crossed my arms, sounding whiny. Since when did they ever do anything right? “Only thing they’re good at is giving more punishments. And getting they’re really creative with it.”

“Trust them,” she said. “You have to rely on them. They know a lot more about magic and mystical beings then we do at the moment. As students, we have to be careful about this information.”

“ _Gee_ Diana, this sounds like Akko overreacting to a magical creature she’s never seen before. Honestly, it’s not worth our time. Or effort.” Barbara’s snide remark came from behind us. She was seated on her bed, hand up in the air with her eyes closed. “Better dedicate our time to things that really matter, like our studies. We don’t wanna go parading around the school grounds chasing some weird, stupid story Akko’s come up with. For all we know, it might be her own shadow!”

“It’s still a warning, I wouldn’t disregard her claims at the very least. But it would be best to not alarm the entire student body. A mass panic is far from what we need at the moment. I’d still stay on my toes, if I were you. Stay away from the woodlands,” she said, turning towards me. “That includes you, Akko. I know how stubborn you are. I’d rather you _not get hurt_.”

That got me to grit my teeth. “We still have to do something about it!”

“We are, Akko. But the right course of action is to remain calm until we’ve assessed the situation carefully. From there, we can be able to pinpoint what’s supposed to be done. Dealing with magical creatures is tricky. Not everything can be resolved by facing it head on.”

“So be it,” Hannah said. “I’m still with Barbara on this. Doesn’t seem like a threat. If it was, then it would’ve caused trouble years ago.”

They still didn’t believe me. At least Diana did, well, sort of.

But I couldn’t leave this one to the professors. They’re not doing too much. We needed to get out there and get rid of that thing before it kills anyone. I stormed out of their room with the intent to go back and find that creature.

I didn’t notice that a pair of steps followed me right after I left. I only looked back because of a firm grasp on my elbow, Diana wasn’t looking too impressed.

“Akko…”

I groaned. She didn’t have to follow me. “What?”

“You’re going to get yourself injured.”

I turned to face her, crossing my arms as I wore a frown. I didn’t mind getting hurt, this thing possess a danger to the school and all we have to do is wait until the professors do something about it? Of course I couldn’t just let that happen.

“No I’m not. I’m going back to my room,” I lied, not wanting Diana to follow since I knew she’d try to talk me out of it. Being angry at them for not taking me seriously got the best of me though. I was too mad at that time to think correctly that I missed out on one thing.

“Your dormitory’s located on the _other side_ of this wing. Which is,” she pointed towards the opposite way of where I was going. “In that direction.”

That was a big _whoopsie_ on my part. But I’m still mad at her.

“Why can’t you leave me alone, Diana? You think this is stupid, right?” Hannah and Barbara were quick to decide that it was. In my head, Diana was just being nice to me because we’re friends but she probably thought that this warning of mine was far from the truth. “Just like Hannah and Barbara said, it’s probably some stupid story I made up.”

“Experience is a great teacher. You’ve walked out on me, and a lot of our other friends, like that a ridiculous amount of times in the past. More often than not, it would result in you ending up with bruises, wounds or in some violation in the student’s code of discipline.” She paused for a while, closing her eyes. “But somehow, you were always right, in one way or another.”

“You… don’t think I’m overreacting,” I said. I couldn’t believe she didn’t think the same way.

“Far from it.” She opened her eyes to look directly into mine. “I trust you.”

I didn’t know how to react. I swore my mouth hung open for a long time. It took me seconds before I realized that I’ve forgotten to breathe.

Diana _trusted_ me.

Deep down, Diana always had cared for me more than the others. Our little group always told me about it in different ways—Amanda always makes sure I get teased about it. But I thought it was out of concern. Everyone cares on different levels, trying to keep everyone safe and sound is what friends are for, right?

Trusting me and my crazy ideas, that was pretty different. Everyone would always doubt me and they wouldn’t even hear me out. Most times they would talk me out of it, or not believe in me. Honestly, the only person who’s ever trusted me was Chariot.

And now, Diana’s does too.

My face felt hot at her revelation. It was so weird to hear that _she trusted me_ personally. It made me smile, and made this warm feeling in my chest pool.

“...thanks,” was all I could say. I didn’t know how to react to that so I turned around, my back facing her.

“We have to do something about it, Diana.” I whimpered. “I know it’s dangerous for us but we have to act now.”

“Yes, but we also have to act smart,” she said. “We cannot simply go out there and slay this beast without even knowing what it is. Or what it’s capable of. Or why it’s here. Most likely, if we do go out there, we’ll be the one it claims as its first victims.”

“I... don’t want that to happen.” No way, I didn’t want to put Diana in that danger. If anything happens to her, I swear I can’t forgive myself knowing I’m the one that’s going to cause it.

She placed a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t too.” She must’ve felt me move back a bit. “Could you describe the creature you’ve encountered?”

“Red eyes. _Blood_ red eyes. Sharp fangs. It moves so fast. It went from a few feet in front of me to my back in an instant.” My voice broke nearing the end of that sentence. “I-I froze…”

It was then when I understood what Diana meant. I couldn’t even do anything in its presence. We’d be walking into our own deaths if we look for it now.

It angered me. The fact that we wouldn’t be able to do something about this impending doom that lurked around the area of the school.

“You’re right…” I said, my hands balling up into a fist with my fingernails digging deep into my palms. It was really frustrating to _not be able_ to do anything ‘cause I’m too weak. “We won’t stand a chance against whatever that was. But we still have to do something about it. I’ll find a way, even though we’re weak.”

“Now,” she added. I turned around to face her, a determined smile spread across her lips. “We will find the creature you speak off. We will learn its weaknesses and take it down. So chin up, Akko. Don’t let this dishearten you.”

Diana’s smile sent away the anger surging within me. She was right. Right now, maybe we won’t be able to stop whatever that thing was. But in the future, if we cross paths with than monster again, I’m going to beat it down to the ground. Making sure it stays miles away from Luna Nova.

“I promise.” I returned her smile with a cocky grin of my own. “It won’t.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: To those who provide kudos, subscriptions, bookmarks and comments, thank you. I never imagined I could’ve written this story this far. This is currently my longest running piece of work sitting now at 24k++ words and I cannot thank you guys enough for the support.
> 
> P.S: Should it matter, yes, Sucy and Lotte took care of the bags of leaves.


	7. Chapter 7

I was having a hard time balancing both my classes and combat magic. I didn't want to fail any of them anyway, but studying and doing some physical exercises alongside it left me wasted most of the time. Sleeping it off wasn't enough, I still woke up groggy and my body begging for a least a few more minutes.

It was nearly impossible to give time to any form of physical conditioning after class. I was swamped with home works, projects and/or reviews. Asking Sucy, Lotte and Diana to tutor me on other classes was also part of my after-class agenda. I knew I had to keep up with them one way or another.

It took a few weeks to finally internalize that I should wake up even before the sun rises. To become like Shiny Chariot meant I had to train like her. She was kind enough to give me a training program which was a mix of some cardio, calisthenics and a small amount of weight training. After a few weeks of the same, mundane training schedule, I was finally able to keep up with the rest of my classmates in Combat Magic.

But that didn't mean something else didn't suffer. Most of the time I was drowsy around a few hours after training. I'm always sleeping in Mentalist Magic and Potions class since they were both my first classes depending on which day it was. Both Professor Lukcic and Professor Danniger didn't like it so I was always sent to the Principal's office for another round of punishments.

This day however, I couldn't sneak in any sleep during class. Professor Danniger had us sit beside our respective partners and trying to close my eyes even for a second, I had Diana's fingers instantly tapping some part of my arm or shoulder.

"Akko. You're falling asleep," she nudged my forearm this time.

"Hnng? No I wasn't," I answered her with droopy eyes and a big yawn right after.

She threw me a stare that would've penetrated walls which made me straighten out my posture for a bit. "Can you at least try to stay awake? Drifting off into slumber within the first ten minutes of the class is disgraceful. You're going to miss a lot."

"That's great advice but my body won't cooperate." I couldn't see past my heavy eyelids. And even if Diana tapped me again on the shoulder to wake me up once more, I'd find myself halfway to sleep in the next few seconds.

I wasn't able to get any of what Professor Danniger saying. My eyes shot towards Diana, hoping she'd be a bit patient with me. "So, what are we going to do today?"

She stiffened at my question. "We'll be applying what we've learned so far,  _like she said last class._ " I could pick up a hint of annoyance in her whisper. Her eyes were forward the entire time.

"Seems pretty easy." I leaned back a bit. Thinking about it, if it's just trying to get into someone's head, then it wouldn't be that hard. Plus, we only had to say the spell correctly. "How come we've never done this outside class?"

Diana's focus was still in front as she wrote down a few notes on her pad.

"Don't let the idea of it fool you. It's a bit difficult to execute. Mentalist Magic is a skill that needs time and practice. There are only a few recognized Mentalists in the world and they're highly regarded for it."

Would I ever need this if I wanted to be like Chariot? I couldn't even think of a good way to use it in a show since it dealt with mental stuff and nothing else. At least for this class, I'm sure I'll just have to pass it.

"Fine." I said, letting out a heavy breath.

"Today we'll be performing the basic spell in mental magic. Proper channeling will keep you in a mental connection with your partner," she said as she picked up her seat plan on the teachers table. Her fingers adjusted her glasses as she held the cardboard at arm's length.

The students around me were murmuring. I picked up words like recitation or demonstration so I looked back, eyeing Sucy and Lotte 3 rows behind.

"Demonstration?" I whispered pretty loudly to Lotte who happened to see me looking back. She nodded, her lips forming a tight line.

Great, I didn't want to stand in front of the entire class demonstrating  _anything_. If someone else went first, however, I would be able to sleep. Diana might redirect her focus towards the students showing the rest of the class what's supposed to be done, giving me enough time to take a nap, even if it's just fifteen minutes.

It's not like Professor Danniger's going to call us. There are so many other student pairs in the class. Randomly, the chances of her calling us is slim. We're seated somewhere in the middle of class, near the side—teachers most likely call students that are seated in the front, somewhere in the center. Or if the class is a bit rowdy, she'd nitpick the one that's seated all the way to the back.

Or she could go the easy way out and call on the most knowledgeable student in this class to do her job, just like the rest of the professor's in Luna Nova.

At that time, I was hoping that she's not like the rest of the teachers in school. I was praying so hard that she's different.

"Ms. Cavendish! Would you and Ms. Kagari be so kind to demonstrate the basic mind-reading spell?"

But she wasn't.

Diana stood up nonchalant and made her way towards the front of the class with me dragging my steps as I followed her, rubbing my eyes as I did. So much for catching up on some sleep.

I couldn't help but look over to my two teammates seated at the back. Lotte seeming concerned as she watched us stand on top of the platform in front and Sucy smirking. I wasn't sure what Sucy was thinking off exactly but it had to do with something Amanda whispered to her.

I was eyeing Lotte when Professor Danniger instructed me to take a seat on a chair in front. She gave me a discreet two-thumbs up with an encouraging smile. This one's a lot more comforting compared to deadpan expression that Sucy had right beside her.

As I sat, Diana directed her attention to Professor Danniger, asking a few questions that I didn't catch because I was spacing out. Their little discussion took a while as I sat in front trying my best to keep my eyes from closing.

The sound of steps on the platform broke me out of my trance. Diana towered over me, her face neutral and her hand on her hip with her wand in her other hand hanging at her side.

"Class, class!" I was too busy trying to keep myself awake that I didn't notice that the class was getting noisy. At the professor's call, everyone quiet down. I chuckled a bit as I saw Jasminka slow down her chewing so that she won't be making that much of a noise as she munched down on her hidden stash of chips.

Once everyone had their attentions up front, Professor Danniger spoke. "To be able to interact with an individual's state of mind, a connection must be established. This we can create with the use of the spell  _Sapiunte Legere_."

"That's a nifty way to cheat," said the short witch seated in front.

Diana's eye snapped towards her, her eyebrows furrowed as a response.

"I wouldn't say so. Creating a mental connection is elementary but  _keeping_  the connection is complicated. You'd have a difficult time suppressing all the physical signs too, so I doubt you'd be successful." I'd never heard Professor Danniger chuckle but there's always a first. And it really sounded like she was, in a way, insulting the student who asked.

"Is there any way we can use this without a using the spell?"

"Yes but you put enough time and effort into the craft. Out of all the registered Mentalist, there's only a few that can use non-verbally." She peered over the class. "Any more questions?"

"Can we use this over long distance?" I asked without even raising my hand. They couldn't have taught this earlier? This would've been so much more helpful over the summer instead of a crystal ball.

"No. Telepathy is limited to a certain distance. The further you are, harder it is to maintain a channeled connection."

_Bummer._

When I looked at Diana, her eyes were already on me. "I wouldn't have had to wait a long time for you to answer the phone." I thought that was funny, flashing her a grin but Diana didn't seem amused at all, giving me a neutral expression in return.

There was this light jingle that caught my attention and had me scanning the roof of the classroom. There wasn't anything there that seemed like it would jingle.

"Anyone else? Best get those questions out and answered before we start the demonstration," she said. There were no hands up, and our teacher faced us, giving Diana a slight nod. "You may proceed."

As Diana nodded back to our professor, I was clueless. "Erm, so what do I do?"

"Nothing," she said, taking her wand from her side. "I'll be casting the spell to demonstrate how it's done. All you have to do, is stay still and observe." Her mouth drew a thin line after saying, "You're expected to execute the spell exactly as I do. So please, pay attention."

"So, I sit here and watch you?"

That jingling sound was there again and this time it was definitely coming from the roof. But even when I scanned the ceiling, there was nothing there. There weren't even bells or chimes in the first place to make that sound.

"Akko," she seemed a bit annoyed. "You could sit up straight, if you wish. But that wouldn't be doing much of a difference."

I shrugged my shoulders. The idea that someone was wandering around in my subconscious—it's pretty easy to feel right?

There it was again. I'm starting to think that sound was outside—on the roof in particular. It was really getting on my nerves that out of all the students here, I was the only one bothered by it.

"You heard it, didn't you?" I saw her peeking towards the direction of the sound, but then she shut me down.

"Can we focus on the demonstration, Akko?"

"Is there something wrong, girls?"

"No, professor." Her head swung towards me, her arms crossing as her brows furrowed. "Akko," she warned.

"I know you heard it. C'mon Diana." I couldn't believe that she's saying she didn't pick it up. I'm 100% sure she did. So I asked her again, trying to get her to agree with me. "It's pretty loud. Kinda hard to miss."

"Whatever you are trying to achieve, it isn't working. We have to execute the demonstration now as to not delay the class," Diana said.

If it weren't for us standing in front of the entire class, I would've fought her on this. But I pushed it all to the back of my head and leant back on the chair.

"Fine," I huffed. "How'd I know you're in my head already?"

"I'll tell you."

She flicked her wand, placing its tip near my forehead without wasting any time. In a few seconds, she said, _"Sapiunte legere."_

There was this loud sound, similar to that of a firing bullet, which went off. My hands were instantly on my ears, eyes closed from the pain that surged through my brain the moment Diana chanted the spell.

But the pain faded as soon as it started. After that, nothing happened _._

Diana's wand was lit, her irises glowing a bright, white light.

_Nothing was happening._

"Diana?" My hand reaching out to her, only to be stopped because she blinked and her eyes changed back to its bright, blue color.

Her eyes darted from me to Professor Danniger, calling her attention over towards us.

"She's rejecting the spell," she said softly to our Professor. "I-I can't get through."

Professor Danniger's eyebrows shot up, looking confused as she took a few steps towards the both of us.

"It's not unusual, but there are some minds with a better fortitude than most." Professor Danniger watched me with that same expression. "But for Ms. Kagari, it definitely is ...strange."

Diana stepped aside as it was Professor Danniger who sat in front of me.

I watched her wave her wand in front of me. Her eyes were like that of an owl, observing me as her irises lost its color and turned into empty circles, just like Diana's a few moments ago. "You are definitely an intriguing girl," she managed to say out loud before her eyes returned to their normal state. Tucking her wand in her belt, she placed her hand on my shoulder with her face contorting to an expression I couldn't understand.

"Is there something wrong, Professor?" Diana asked.

"Never you mind." She looked at her. "Akko's mind isn't currently exposed at the moment so there's no need to worry. Please continue to work with her," she told her, loud enough that only the both of us could hear.

"It seems we're having a bit of difficulty with our demonstration. I'd like to call on a different pair." She faced the class, calling out Amanda and her own partner. "Ms. O'niell. Ms. Russeau. Come forward."

We made our way back to our seats silently as we could as Amanda and that tall, lanky girl from Combat Magic took their places on the platform. As they passed Constanze and Jasminka, Amanda stuck her tongue out at them, only to be answered with a smile and another thumbs up.

"Alright, let's pick up where we left off," Professor Danniger said calmly.

Amanda sat on the seat in front, her arm dangling along the backrest of the chair as she smirked towards the tall, lanky girl in front of her. It didn't seem like she was interested, making a goofy face at her partner when our professor had her back turned.

"Amanda, not now." Her partner said meekly, almost as if she was begging.

Amanda let out a sneer, followed by that playful grin of hers. "Try me,  _Estelle._ "

I think she said, "Don't do this," to Amanda. Her voice was too soft that it was hard to hear her from the middle of the room. She held her wand a few inches from Amanda's face, waiting on the professor's go-signal to cast the spell.

"Diana?"

She looked at me.

"What happened?"

She shrugged. "I casted the spell but I couldn't channel your thoughts. There's some sort of hindrance in the way. Something I'm not quite familiar with."

"You're casted it before right? So it shouldn't have been like that, right?"

"Correct."

"But why?"

"I'm at a loss, I'm afraid. I'm quite surprised as well."

Diana had her focus to the front. I was thinking at that time that I could maybe try to sleep? Maybe even if it's just for five minutes to keep me up for the rest of the day. So I rested my forehead on my propped up elbow, hiding my face from Diana.

The rest of the demonstration was a blur since everything faded out at the last second. Waking up to my head falling from my hand gave me a little panic attack, making me sit up straight, hoping no one saw me.

"...simplest form of Mentalist Magic. Once all of you have demonstrated channeling thoughts for a long time, the rest of the syllabus would be easier to follow."

Amanda was the first to pass us, then Estelle, who had her eyes glued to the floor as they made their way back to their seats.

"I'm giving you all enough time to practice this spell. By next week, I'm expecting all of you to be able to keep a channeled connection for more than 5 minutes."

The classroom was filled with noise at Professor Danniger's declaration. And just right on cue, as she glanced toward the clock at the back of the class, the class bell rang. Everyone hastily packing their stuff to rush to the next class since, just like myself, no one wanted to be late.

Once we were all seated, barely 5 minutes to spare, the clickity-clack of our Professor's heels echoed throughout the hallways. The entire room fell into silence, not even the sound of  _breathing_  could be heard from any of us there.

She was quick to start our lesson—passing out all the handouts by floating them from her hands to our desk.

"For this lesson, which we will be covering in two classes, use these handouts. Everyone's expected to memorize and understand all that is written down. I will be giving a test on it next week. Those who fail to get a score of 90% and above will be required to attend remedial classes in the afternoon after your regular schedules."

"What?" This was crazy. Punishments were understandable for things that go against the school's code or trouble and stuff like that. But getting a low grade way above the passing mark? The only one who can stay consistently above 90% is Diana. Maybe sometimes Hannah and Barbara but they're still getting grades lower than 90%.

I needed a clarification. No way was I going to let this pass so I had my hand up in the air. She had her icy glare towards me, and I took it as a signal to speak. "Isn't the passing grade 75%? Like, for all classes?"

"I set the standards for my class, Ms.  _Atsuko Kagari_. Should you comply or not, that's completely up to you. Clear?"

If I could've sank into my seat at that time, I would've. Although I already had a list of arguments against that 90% passing rate, they were gone in an instant. Instead, I agreed with her by nodding hastily like a scared child.

"Turn those handouts to the second page. We'll be tackling the different classifications of spirits and demons…"

I wasn't paying any more attention to her. Looking at the handouts was daunting. Page after page printed back-to-back with small letters, I don't think I'll be able to memorize the entire thing before her quiz.

"We shall be—"

A knock on the door stopped her abruptly, then she turned her head towards it. The classroom where we stayed at didn't have those glass windows by the door. Once it opened, Professor Danniger peeked in and motioned her to come out.

"This better be critical." The way she said it, though it wasn't directed at me, still sent chills down my spine. She walked over to the door, saying something in a whisper that I couldn't catch.

"It is. We're in a dire situation. We need you back in Miranda's office. This issue has to be settled and dealt with before it gets out of hand."

She took one look at all of us before saying, "I'll have to leave all of you early but the class will still continue. I'm leaving Ms. Cavendish in charge. Anyone caught doing anything not class related will have a corresponding penalty." She left in a hurry, following Professor Danniger.

The pages of the handout contained mostly terms. And it was thick. Binding it would actually make it look like a book. I can't believe we had to memorize each thing printed on this piece of paper by next week.

"Binsfeld… Agrippa… Spina… Michaelis… Who are all these people?" I scratched my head to only a few of a hundred names listed on the reviewer. We've never memorized this much in such a short amount of time before. And this is already considering the fact that we had Potions 2 as a subject—with its extensive ingredient lists and its magical properties.

"The real question is why should we care? Do you care? I don't." Looking backward, I saw Amanda with her feet up on the seat in front of her, leaning back. "You guys wanna watch a movie later?"

Constanze and Jasminka shared a look, then gave Amanda a thumbs up.

"Yeah! That's what I wanna see. What about you, Kagari?"

I thought about it pretty long and hard. Amanda always chose movies that I'd enjoy, so when it came to preference, I'm assuming that it’ll be a good movie. But I’ve got something else to do. "Nah, I'll pass."

"What? Why?"

"I'll have to wake up early tomorrow. If I go with you guys, I'm going to be dead asleep tomorrow morning."

"Ya sure? We're a pretty big group and it isn't going to be fun without you!"

"Who are you watching with? Is Mary's team going to go to?"

"Yeah, Mary's the one with the movie collection so I gotta get her over right? Barbara's coming over, Hannah's still fifty-fifty because Diana's got her on patrol—"

She looked over her shoulder, "Yo, Russeau. What's up."

"It's Estelle, Amanda. Not Russeau," her voice was calm and soothing that it didn't even sound like a correction.

Watching Amanda's face drop was one of the most hilarious things I've seen. "Fine,  _Estelle_. What's up?"

"We still haven't finished our written report yet," she said. "Could we work on it tonight?"

"Nah, I'm busy. We can wing that tomorr—"

"Hey," she said calmly. "I don't think we'll be able to finish this tomorrow even if we tried. It's best we get this done tonight or else it'll affect our grade."

"Who cares? It's just a stupid grade. We'll finish it by tomorro—"

"Believe me, Amanda. I know that you don't want to do this but," she paused, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "If we work on it together after class, we won't have to have to work up ourselves on it tomorrow. And if we finish early, I think you'll still be able to make it to your little movie event."

Amanda grunted. I thought for sure that she'd crack a joke. Something along the lines of her being too lazy or maybe about the time or something that would get her out of this situation.

"I'm busy today. We'll do it tomorrow."

Estelle pouted for a moment, then came closer to Amanda's chair. She squatted on the floor, making sure that she was seeing Amanda eye-to-eye before saying, "Please Amanda?"

How could she remain so calm? Didn't she know she was going head to head with a dragon born with the temper of an active volcano? Not even the professors could get Amanda to do anything, I doubt she'll be able to make Amanda do a report.

My focus shifted from them to Lotte as she tapped my shoulder. "Yo, what's up?"

"We still haven't completed our ingredients for Potions 3."

"Oh damn." The thought of it made me sink into my seat a bit more. Right, right, we haven't even gotten enough ingredients for our potions class. We were supposed to do it yesterday but I passed out so early that Sucy and Lotte were only able to get a few on the list.

"What else is missing?" I asked.

"Burdock root. Rose thorns. Oh, and some wormwood," Sucy said.

"What abo—"

"The Botany Club isn't allowing us any access to their crops from the  _last_ incident you pulled. We'll have to get out there and gather them on our own," she interrupted me.

"Why do you make it sound like it was my fault?"

"Because it is. You were the one that gave the entire club a box full of wasps. All their plants died within the same week."

"I thought those were bees." And I honestly did. How would I have known that they were wasp? They were gold, and black and had wings. I just thought that they would appreciate it. "Bees help plants!"

"Yes, but those weren't bees. They were wasps, Akko. How many times do I have to repeat myself until you understand what it is I'm trying to say."

We continued to bicker until Lotte calmed us down. "Our potions class isn't until 2PM. We have to get those right after this."

That sucked entirely. Going out to get those ingredients meant two things. First, we have to walk in this blaring heat in the middle of the day and second, we only have 3 hours to do it. Which meant that we had to skip lunch.

"Don't worry about your nourishment. I've got enough edible mushrooms to share with you and Lotte as we go to the fields."

"That's not food!" Just a bagful of mushrooms? What does she think I am? I won't be able to think properly on mushrooms alone! "How am I going to be full with only a few helpings of mushrooms?!"

"That isn't my problem. We can get some edible forage food stuff on our way to the clearing."

As if on cue, the bell rang. She stood up, following Lotte out the door, leaving me behind.

"Sucy! Lotte! Wait for me!" I screamed out as I hurriedly shoved the reviewer into my knapsack, bolting towards the both of them to the hallway.


	8. Chapter 8

In the out fields, there's this place that was full of most of the ingredients required for Potions 3. So all we needed to do was get there. Which kinda sucked since it's really far from the campus itself. It's around a 20 minute broom ride.

Sucy wasn't kidding when she said she had enough mushrooms to feed the three of us. Her sling bag was misleading. Although it looked like it was only big enough to carry her books, she would always pick out a mushroom every time I would ask from her. It's like she never ran out of it until I was stuffed.

"We're the only ones here…" Lotte said, sounding like her usual, worried self.

"It's better that way. At least we have the entire field to ourselves," Sucy answered her, tucking her broom onto her back. She scouted the area, then took a map out from her bag and showed it to us.

"We have to split up if we want to make it back in time for potions class. The ingredients are scattered so you guys just have to get the first thing you see and come right back. We'll make it back in time."

Sucy told us the exact locations of the missing ingredients. She'd gone after the burdock, Lotte getting a few roses while I was left with gathering the wormwood.

"I'm setting the time on your alarms. It'll go off in 15 minutes. Come back once it rings so we don't have to be late for class."

I didn't have to go far to look for it though. Walking a few minutes north from where we landed, there was a plot of wormwood right there that covered a big field.

Didn't seem right to bring back only a few pieces to school—more has always been better. Besides, where's the challenge in picking up the nearest pieces? They looked dry, and the leaves were small and rough. The wormwood itself looked sad as it sprouted from the ground. We've always been taught to use the best ingredients, so I had to make sure I had to bring back the best looking one.

Most of the wormwood nearest to the path looked the same. Patches of small, green bush looking plants lining up as far as the eye can see.

Definitely, the bigger, better bushes would be growing on those areas where most students wouldn't go. So, it was the obvious choice to go looking for the best wormwood plant a bit further into the field.

I knew I had enough time to get a bunch of those plants further out. So I did.

Took a while until I reached an area that had the grasses growing tall. The best thing about it was that it didn't have any paths running through it.

The breeze was a bit stronger in this area, rustling the leaves of the nearby trees that lined the bottom of a mountain. I was right, the bushes here were bigger with it even had some flower blooming already!

The one that caught my eye was this big shrub by the trees. I'm sure this was the best one since it stood out amongst the other wormwood shrubs.

Trying to get near it was hard, stepping over the other shrubs on the ground with aching leg muscles made it harder—especially since I kept being poked on my legs by the twigs. So when I got there, a big grin spread right across my face.  _Yes_ , this time they'll all be impressed with what I got!

"Sucy's gonna flip when she sees this!"

There wasn't anyone to hear me out but it didn't matter. Come to think of it, Sucy never taught me how to harvest wormwood so I jerked it from the ground, pulling it as hard as I could. After a few tugs, I stopped trying since it wouldn't budge at all.

"You're a piece of crap you know that? Don't you wanna be made into a great potion? I'm group mates with the best Alchemist in Luna Nova and possibly the best in the world! She's gonna make sure that you'll be one hell of a great concoction!"

Hands gripping both stems from the ground, I braced myself.

I yanked it as hard as I could, only for the stem to slip from my grip, making me fall backwards onto the ground at full force.

 _That hurt._ My tailbone hit a small rock.

When I stood up, rubbing my back to ease the pain, I kicked it out of anger, yelling, "Stupid rock!" at it.

Even with my legs still aching, I was able to kick it strong enough to travel a good distance, hitting what looked like a pile of plants not far from where I was.

It wiggled.

"What the hell…?" That was alarming. I swore I saw that stone move from my pebble. I couldn't leave it alone, I had to make sure what I saw was real.

There was another pebble not far from me so I took it and threw it again at the clump of leaves. My eyes didn't fool me. That thing wiggled again, this time shaking the leaves on top of it.

I wanted to go near it and poke it some more but the buzz on my wrist caught my attention. "Crap, I'm gonna be late."

Anyway, I looked back at the wormwood which I was trying to harvest. If I couldn't pull it from the ground, maybe I could cut it. I was still debating in my head if Sucy needed the root or just the leaves.

 _Whatever_ , I thought, changing my wand into a big hori-hori and slashed off the stalks, shoving whatever I had on hand into my bag. As for the roots, I dug deep into soil, cutting any exposed root and kept them too. Sucy would find a way to do something about this. That's what she gets for not being clear with her instructions.

There was this light shuffling of leaves that was louder than the usual gentle breeze through the plains. I didn't pay it any attention since I had to get a bunch of wormwood before I went back. After a few more rustles, a big thump at my back surprised me.

I looked back to see this massive, green rock covered in moss with a mouth wider than its height. It opened its mouth to reveal the biggest, bulkiest set of teeth I've ever seen.

Good thing I was quick enough to evade it. Jumping to the side, it missed biting me by only a small margin.

"Oi!" I screamed out to it, not like it would do anything.

I knew I was in big trouble when it snapped one of its weird tentacles towards me, curling it around my entire body as it whipped me in the air.

"Whoaa!"

It brought me closer to what I can only assume was its nose. It made a sniffing noise, ruffling my hair as it tilted me upside down.

"Crap." I can only assume that it thought I was some sort of food. It opened its mouth, hauling me upside down over it as it brought me closer to its face.

"Oh no you don't you stupid thing! I'm not food!" I kicked it as hard as I could, hitting the side of its mouth. It definitely got mad, howling before releasing its rancid, smoky breath onto me.

_Oh god._

I had to get out of its grip or else I'm going to pass out from this toxic, putrid smell. Squirming my arm underneath its tight grip, I was able to get my wand.

" _Foces Gelades!_ "

My shot was perfect, landing straight into its mouth as it opened. The creature closed its mouth immediately and my shot exploded inside.

Which got me flung a far distance from it. I scrambled to my feet, wand still in hand. Looking back to check it that  _thing_  was still alive got my jaw hanging and my head feeling a bit lighter.

Smoked rose from its mouth as it made its way towards me. Its steps were heavy, sending tremors even though it was still far away.

"What the hell!?" What kind of plant monster doesn't die to fire? I was 100% sure I didn't miss. So I sent another one, this time a more focused shot right at it.

" _Foces Gelades!"_

It hit, this time the monster being engulfed by the smoke my fiery shot left behind. But it didn't even stop in in tracks, making its way slowly toward where I was standing.

That was my cue to scamper. But I only took a step toward where Sucy and Lotte was before I was yanked again by that tentacle around my waist, this time nearly crushing me. My face only inches away from its mouth as it exhaled it's putrid, purple breath again.

"Ewww!"

My hand was up my nose in an instant. That foul stench smelled like rotten eggs mixed with that compost thingy at the back times a hundred, penetrating even towards the back of my eyes, making me tear up. Good thing my right arm was free. Didn't seem like the fire spell was going to work so this time I changed my spell to a  _Murrow_  toward its arm to at least let me go.

It worked, its grip around my waist loosened up as I wiggled a bit to get out of its hold. I was able to land on my feet, falling a bit off balance as it dropped me toward the ground.

There are these weird creatures out here. Not sure what's causing all of them to appear now, but I had to fight back. If I didn't this thing's gonna follow me back to school.

First things first, I have to get back to my teammates. I had to give them a heads up before this thing hurts us.

I ran as fast as I could, passing first by my bag and my broom and grabbing it from the ground without even slowing down.

The stems of the wormwood were scratching my legs as I bolted past them but I didn't care. Those big, thunderous steps paired with this loud, angered growl was more of a problem than a few scratches that stung my legs.

 _Crap._  I still had that big monster tailing me when I saw Sucy standing at the clearing we were supposed to meet at. I look to the right and Lotte was also on her way back too. I can't drag them into this. I have to warn them to get away as fast as they could.

"Sucy! Lotte! Run!" I screamed as I saw Sucy walking towards me. I bolted towards her direction, passing her.

I didn't hear any footsteps, or any indication that Sucy was getting out of its way. Instead, there was this distinct sound of a bottle breaking, followed by a shrill shriek with those big footsteps stopping. Looking back, the monster had its long tentacles up in the air, rubbing whatever gooey, bubbling liquid Sucy threw at the top of its head.

"Sucy…?" was all I could say as I stopped and stood there dumbfounded. She took another bottle from her pouch and shook it, aiming it at the monster's mouth.

The sound of the bottle breaking penetrated the air, followed by this shrill gurgling noise coming from the monster. It shivered, stretching its arms up into the air before dropping to the ground, sending a mushroom cloud of dust into the air above it.

Sucy didn't even feel scared, taking a few strides towards that weird thing once the dust settled. She took a hanky from her pocket and tied it around the middle of her face, covering her nose. Bending down to examine it, she scraped something on the monsters head, placed whatever it was she collected then put it in a small vial she had on hand. She also did the same with the ooze coming from the monsters mouth, taking a bigger bottle this time and filling it to the brim with the bubbling, purple spit that oozed from its mouth to the ground.

"What are you going to do with that?" I pinched my nose as its vile odor spread through the air. No way was I going to smell that again. "That's so disgusting!"

"I gather whatever I can. I'm not turning my back on something I could use for potions in the future especially if it's a component that's not readily available where I'm from."

Lotte's timing couldn't have been more perfect, waiting for the both of us from afar. I walked over to her, eager to get away from the foul smelling dead monster that laid on the ground. "Lotte!" I called out her name.

She was dusting off her uniform before looking at us. "What ...happened?" Her hand was on my uniform, seeing that pieces of it were burned and torn. "Akko, what in the world happened to you?"

Sucy was only a few steps behind me, which I didn't notice. "Akko's being an idiot. She intimidated a Tendriculus, then tried to kill it with fire." She looked at me, her mouth curved into a frown. "It's resistant tofire, haven't you been listening in class?"

"Well it was a plant! It's common sense! Plants die to fire!"

"Not this one. You are so bone-headed sometimes… Why did I even think of leaving you alone?"

Before I was about to release an angry counter at Sucy, Lotte tugged us by our sleeves. "We better head back guys, our class starts in thirty minutes. We'll be late and we all know how Professor Lukcic hates latecomers. You know how long it takes to clean the lab after potions class."

I crossed my arms, "It's still supposed to burn. Plants are weak against fire. You ever seen a forest  _not die_  to fire?!"

Both of them sighed at the same time, Lotte shaking her head as she did. "At least you're still in one piece. We better head back if we want to make class in time."

Sucy was about to say something, but I saw Lotte shoot her a disarming look. She said something to Sucy under her breath I didn't catch. Whatever it was, it made Sucy back down.

They both were walking in front of me, I trailed behind slowly at the back. My arm was pretty itchy, and the rest of my body was too. I couldn't focus on their conversation, my arm already becoming red from all the scratching I've done.

Something caught my attention. A plant that looked like it had bugs on it? That was pretty cool. I reached out to it, almost touching it as I called out to Sucy, "What's this?"

Sucy's eyes grew wide, nearly stumbling over to where I was when she looked back. "Don't touch it!"

I withdrew my hand, I've never heard Sucy's voice with that much urgency. "I'm not!" Well, now that she told me not too, I wasn't going to touch it. "It's pretty. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this."

"If that's what I think it is…" She approached the flower carefully, not even touching the petals which looked so much like flies, which actually got my attention in the first place. "Yup, this is it."

I was confused, and by the looks of it, Lotte was too. "So," Lotte chimed. "What is it?"

"It's a fly orchid. I can't believe there's a bunch out here. I didn't even think these even grew here." This was one of those moment were Sucy's face held an excited look. Her voice only a bit chipper, her eyes also were kinda smiling. "These things bloom in June but I can do something about that."

Lotte took a step closer, almost beside Sucy checking out the flower I found. "Why would you want it to bloom earlier?"

"Because I wouldn't be able to use it before we graduate. I don't have enough time to come back and gather it." She shrugged, still examining the plant. "You'll help me though, won't you?" She looked at Lotte.

Lotte shrugged. "Sure. But I'm not sure how I can help."

"You can get a few things delivered from here right? I'm sure your family's shop has connections to the stuff I need. This plant's hard to harvest off-season and I need a good courier to bring it back to school. I'll tell you what I need when it's ready." She took out her wand and pointed it towards the flower.

" _Protekta Lunhaw"_

A clear pyramid appeared around it, then disappeared a few moments later.

I was relieved that this whole thing was over. I thought I didn't have to be the least bit alarmed but when Sucy and Lotte faced me, they looked horrified.

"Akko…" Sucy covered her mouth, motioning Lotte to do the same. "What… happened? Did it breathe on you? Did you inhale it?"

"No! Well. Yeah. It was gross. Like, really gross." She had to mention it, reminding me of my whole ordeal earlier. "That huge thing had a nasty case of bad breath. You'd think it would've smelled a bit better since it's a plant monster but  _no_. It smelled like it's been eating garbage for a long time. And it happened  _twice_."

They still didn't drop their horrified expressions. I was about to answer them, but I couldn't get words past mouth.

"Guyythh…" It was hard to talk. My tongue was swollen. I looked at my arms and although I've only scratched a small portion of it, both of them were covered in hives, from my hands to my shoulders. They were burning up.

I was really starting to panic. My vision blurred, Sucy and Lotte becoming these clouds of color in front of me. A throbbing headache surged, followed by my legs giving up on me.

"I…" I held my hand up to see that my palm was paler than it normally was. "I dun feel sho—" That's as far as I could say because the next thing I knew, I blacked out.

* * *

 

The light was blinding as I opened my eyes. There was this distinct sound of some people talking far away from me. Once my vision cleared, I could see that it was Diana talking to the nurse by the door. The nurse nodded her head, then left immediately right after, closing the door right behind her.

Water. I needed water. My throat was so dry and so was my mouth.

"Wat—" I couldn't talk properly, my voice sounded and felt like I had sound down there.

Diana paced over to me with her arms crossed. "You're awake," she said in a soft voice, I could barely hear it.

I nodded my head as she reached me a water bottle on the table.

"You're going to have to have to finish that." I don't think I'll have a problem with it though. I could barely hear her as I finished the entire contents of the bottle in three gulps. Never thought that water would taste so sweet. "But that'll be the only bottle this hour. The nurse is limiting your water intake."

I didn't mind, shaking my head a bit after drinking the last drop. "I'm still thirsty though."

"You'll have to wait," she said as she walked closer to stand beside my bed.

She stood there silently for a long time, eyes looking at me but obviously her mind was elsewhere. Diana's always known to have this poker face on so I can't exactly tell what she was thinking. My mind raced through the possibilities. Was she mad?

"Am I in trouble?" I asked. That didn't seem to knock her out of her trance. I reached out to her hand, tugging her sleeve as I asked again, "Am I in trouble?"

She snapped out of it, shaking her head a bit before looking at me. "Sorry Akko, I got lost in thought a bit. Pardon?"

"I didn't get what the doctor said. I'm gonna be alright… right?"

She nodded. "The nurse is taking a look at your vitals. She'll be back with the results momentarily. I assure you," she placed a hand on my shoulder. "You are most definitely fine."

I flashed her a cheeky grin, then let out a big sigh. "Sucks to be stuck here." I was supposed to be in class. Which reminded me, "Did I miss Potions Lab?"

She nodded in response. "I've brought you the homework and the necessary laboratory exercises. These are to be submitted next week, I'm afraid. Professor Lukcic was firm in her decision to not let this be an exemption but she's willing to wait for your papers. You'll have to recreate the necessary potions and list your results. Which you'll be submitting the next class."

She pointed out the papers that were neatly placed on the table beside the bed.

"Great. Homework with more homework," I groaned. This is one of the reasons it's hard to miss a class. There's going to be more work to be done than just the usual amount. "You'll help me, right?"

She nodded, "If I have the time, I'd gladly assist you."

We were both startled at the sound of the door opening. Sucy came in, popping her head first and looking surprised at Diana. Though I'm sure she would've said something about her presence, she kept her mouth shut.

She directed her attention to me as she closed the door behind her. "I shouldn't be here but Lotte's been bugging me to see if you're doing okay." She closed the door behind her before looking at me. "So, you okay?"

"I'm good... I guess? Not feeling anything weird or out of place right now so that means I'm fine, right?"

"I'm surprised she's alive." Diana said with a hint of annoyance in her tone. "The amount of poison she inhaled body would've resulted in a terrifying situation."

"I'd say I'm more surprised she's not dead," came Sucy's snarky retort. "Akko's a fighter. A dumb one but definitely isn't going to go down that easy."

"What…?" I couldn't understand the both of them.

They looked like two warriors glaring daggers at each other. The room's silence was foreboding, and the both of them stared at each other like they were having this mental war that I wasn't allowed to hear.

"Most of the poison's out of your system. Don't over exert yourself. Your body's still recovering from the poison and you need all the rest you can get." She faced me, ignoring Sucy, who took careful steps closer to the bed.

"Yup. Good thing we got you here in time. You would've suffocated and died on the spot."

"Something that could've been ultimately avoided if she wasn't left to gather ingredients on her own."

Sucy's grunted and crossed her arms as Diana's eyes darted from me to Sucy. "She's old enough to take care of herself. First of all, Tendriculus' aren't even supposed to be out in the open so it  _being there_  is some sort of fluke. Plus, those things are docile. It becomes aggressive only when they're provoked. It wasn't my fault that Akko enraged it."

"Knowing full well of Akko's tendencies, it shouldn't have—"

"She's a grown up student that knows what and what no—"

"Guys!" I had to stop them. Sucy's voice was raised, her brows furrowed and Diana wasn't budging at all.

Honestly, I couldn't have been happier when the nurse popped in to check on me. The both of them back down, taking steps away from each other as they avoided looking at one another.

"You'll be staying here for another day. I've already issued a letter to the faculty for all your classes tomorrow," she said as she hung the clipboard at the edge of the bed. "We'll have to make sure that the poison in your blood is flushed out completely or else you'll still be experiencing some complications. You inhaled quite a lot." Her eyes hovered toward Sucy. "It's good that Ms. Manbavaran had some antidotes on hand. Which worked wonders, by the way."

"Thanks. I made them myself." She smiled, with her chin up, at the nurse. Sucy checked the clock on the wall, then said, "I'm going back to the dorm, I left a potion brewing which should be done in a few minutes. Get well, Akko. Stop being stupid."

I stuck my tongue out at her, to which she smirked as a reply. "I'm not," I said.

Sucy and the nurse left the room, leaving me and Diana all alone.

"Are you certain you're not any pain anywhere? Or some numbness in any part of your body?"

I wiggled my fingers, then my toes before answering her question. Nope, I didn't. I feel fine except maybe this light headed feeling I had.

"No pain. Or numb feeling. Or feeling anything weird or not normal. I'm woozy, does that count?"

"That's a side effect of the treatment. It's normal to be feeling that way."

"I wish it didn't though. Stupid plant monster. To think I was only out there to get wormwood. Ended up here because of it."

"Well, I'm sure you've learned your lesson," she said, which caused me to frown a bit. "I'm not one to fluster but when I heard the news, I can't say it didn't worry me."

"Look, I'm okay! It was an accident."

"You didn't seem  _okay_  when you were passed out on the bed earlier."

We shared this moment of silence. I wanted to apologize, though I can't really say exactly why. It ran through my head that I got her worrying about me, and she took time off from her almost always busy schedule to bring me the Potions manuals and some reading materials to go along with it.

"Hey Diana." I had my hand tapping on the blanket across my legs. I couldn't face her, I knew my face was heating up and I can't let her see me like this. "Thanks," I muttered under my breath.

"For what? I've not done anything to warrant your gratitude."

"Yeah, but knowing you're here checking up on me makes me feel a little better." Which was true. She really didn't have to come all the way here to see me. Or bring me some class materials and assignments. But the fact that she did, still made me happy. "I'm sorry I got you riled up."

"D—don't be foolish, Akko." She said. "I'm not upset about this unfortunate situation. I'm glad to know you're all well."

I giggled. It didn't seem that way when she and Sucy were up at each other's throat. But if she says she isn't, I'm going to believe her.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to go to tonight's study." I held up my hand that was connected to the dextrose. "You see, I'm kinda  _tied_  to something else…"

"It's perplexing that you still find some humor in this situation, considering you've nearly died in the process." Although she sounded disappointed, I saw that little smile tugging at the side of her lips. "Of course, you are excused. I'll keep you posted on the lesson tomorrow so you don't fall too far behind."

I see her make her way to the door that got me a bit anxious. "Where are you going?"

"I've still got a few responsibilities on my hands. My main purpose of coming over was to drop off your homework." Her gaze landed on the stack of papers placed neatly on the table beside the bed. "If you have the time, read through it. Some of the potions and their alchemic values will be needed in the next laboratory examination. Focus on those."

I nodded. "I'll do that later." I rested back onto the pillow, closing my eyes.

It dawned on me that I had to stay in the infirmary alone. There wasn't going to be anyone here to keep me company and that thought alone scared me. I'd be bored to death if there was no one to talk to.

"Or…" I said. She turned around, her hand still on the door handle. "...what if we move our study session here?" I sounded desperate. "Can we study here? Please?" I was begging her to stay—like a kid.

She pondered a bit on my request. I was praying that she say yes because it's going to get really lonely here if there's no one to bother. Knowing Diana, she won't want to miss a tutorial session so I thought it would've worked.

"I'd like too, but I have other responsibilities to attend to. Also, the nurse advised you to rest." I groaned at her reply. Oh well, can't say I didn't try. I'd have to stay here alone. "I will check up on you tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be completely healed by then."

She left, leaving me alone to my thoughts as I rested my head back on the pillow.

Thoughts flooded into my head. Even though I've been keeping up with my studies and my classes, I'm still counting on the others to save me. It shouldn't be that way though. I can't always depend on them. Plus, with that unknown creature lurking in the shadows still out there, I have no way to stand up to it, or even defeat it.

 _Gotta get stronger, gotta get smarter and fast._ All the others are getting better at their own magical strengths and I have to keep up with them. So when  _that danger_  comes our way, I know I won't be the one dragging everyone down.

Rolling over to my side, I saw the papers on the desk. I thought about just leaving them there to get back to sleep, but that would only be delaying the whole thing. So I decided against it; it's better to read things first before doing the assignments. I reached for it and skimmed through the earlier pages, studying some parts of it so that when I actually try to do the potion recipe for this week, it won't blow up on my face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware of Diana's OOCness. I needed that to happen.


	9. Chapter 9

Spending the night in the infirmary was anything but exciting. The nurse checking up on me every other hour was my only source of company. I wanted to talk to her since it was boring being alone here but she wasn’t chatting with me; only answering questions with a nod, or a very judgmental look.

So it can’t be avoided that I nearly jumped through the roof because of my excitement when Professor Chariot herself walked through the door.

“Chariot!” I yelped, still not believing that she was here. I didn’t expect her to visit me since I’ve been hearing that she’s out during her free time doing research on the field. Though I’ve asked around, no one was really sure what she was researching about.

“Hello Akko,” she greeted me with that gentle smile of hers, closing the door behind her as quietly as she could. “I heard about your little incident with a Tendriculus yesterday. How are you faring?”

“Pretty fine! I still can’t leave, which is a bummer, the nurse says they have to keep me here until later because the poison isn’t completely gone from my system. Which sucks ‘cause I can’t go to training.”

She chuckled, taking a seat on the stool beside the bed. “I figured. It’s all everyone could talk about.” She was still in her tracksuit with her hair tied back lazily in a messy bun. “Why did you end up head to head with a Tendriculus in the first place?”

“I… uh…” I didn’t want to answer her. It was so embarrassing to tell Chariot about my little blunder so instead, I told her a bit of a lie. “I—it just attacked me while I was looking for wormwood. I didn’t know it was tailing me until I looked back.”

She had her brow raised and her arms crossed the moment a shaky, unconvincing laugh. “Are you sure that’s what happened? Doesn’t seem like Tendriculus would go out and follow people around considering they are naturally lazy and they feed on insects.” She isn’t buying my story one bit.

She saw right through me. Chariot was one of the few people who could get me to tell the truth. So I answered defeated, “It was there when I was getting some wormwood. I kinda… threw rocks at it.”

She squirmed in her seat, letting out a big, disappointed sigh. “Akko...”

“I didn’t mean too! I didn’t even know it was there, honest! It moved, and I got really curious so I threw another rock at it.” I shot up from the bed but her hands were on my shoulders instantly, getting me to calm down.

“It’s fine, Akko. No need to get too worked up about it. You have to rest.” Her phone rang after, which she picked up. She darted towards the door, taking one look at me saying, “Give me a moment,” before taking a step outside.

That was unusual for her. Professor Chariot never did that when someone called her phone. She’d answer it right away or just let it keep ringing.

Curiosity got the best of me. I got off the bed, taking the dextrose IV with me and walked over to the door, quietly opening it to see her a few steps away from the door with her eyes locked on the phone.

Sneaking over to her side was easy. The wires of her earphone were dangling on her side with her free hand fidgeting with it as she listened on. Getting closer to her and peaking over her screen, I saw a familiar face with longer, purple hair all messed up and green eyes frame behind huge square glasses looking like they haven’t been sleeping for days.

“I have the information you requested but I need time to explain it,” came an all too familiar voice from Professor Chariot’s earphones. It’s funny how she’s got the volume on max level. She didn’t know the sound was too loud that it could be heard clear even through her ear piece.

“Already? I thought you said you needed a week.  I’ll call later. I’m in the infirmary right now.”

“What are you doing in the infirmary?” Professor Croix sounded really worried. Her screen tilted a bit as she brought her own phone closer to her face. “Are you hurt?”

“No! I’m visiting a friend. Sh—“

“Is that Professor Croix?” I scrambled over to her, eager to get a glimpse of her screen. She was too fast though, taking her phone and pointed the screen the other way. “What are you doing talking with Professor Croix? Can I speak to her? How is she? Professor Croi—“

“Akko!”

“But Professor Cha—” The receiver beeped busy before I got my answer. She put her phone away, screen down and shoved it into the pocket of her joggers. She was quick to dismiss our conversation, ignoring me as I kept badgering her about Professor Croix. She didn’t understand! I haven’t seen Professor Croix since the end of my first year, I just wanted to know how she was doing.

“Wait…” I stopped in the middle of my barrage of questions. I know it’s been two years since I’ve last seen Professor Croix, especially since she’s been locked away because of her modern magic that nearly destroyed the entire world. “Isn’t she in a correctional facility right now? We aren’t allowed to communicate with her!” Reminding her of what the other professors said. But honestly, I still wanted to talk to Professor Croix.

Her hand was on my mouth before I could ask any more questions. “Akko, this is the only favor I’ll be asking of you.” She looked me in the eye until I settled down. When I did, she continued, “Please keep quiet about this. Don’t mention this to anyone. Not even your teammates. Nor Diana.”

She sighed, taking her hand off my face. “Please? I’ll explain at a later time. I promise.”

I nodded quietly though my brows were still furrowed. She’ll get in trouble if the faculty or the government knows about her talking with Professor Croix. And that’s one thing I don’t want happening. I don’t want Professor Chariot to lose her job here because of it.

She assisted me with the dropper when we went back into the room. I jumped on the bed, sitting on the edge facing her as she took her seat on the stool near. We talked more about the monster that attacked me, not nearly sure as to why there’s one living in the outskirts of Luna Nova.

“If it’s supposed to be inside the mountain, what is it doing out there?”

“Something’s luring it out, or keeping it out. This is the first time I’ve heard of an encounter with it outside.”

“Maybe it’s cause of the abundance of magical energy! These are magical creatures after all. It’s possible that there are others that are drawn to it too, right?” A pair of bright, red eyes flashed through my mind, causing me to shudder.

“Maybe, Akko. It’s likely.” She tapped her chin. “But I’m not certain of it.”

“It’s gotta be it! There’s no other way it’s gonna come out just like that, right? Unless you count other things changing in the world. Like global warming…”

“I’m also not discounting that idea since there’s no reasonable explanation right now. Anything that could explain it is a possibility.”

I laid back down across my bed, making my hands dangle on the other side. There were so many questions in my head. Impending danger was a common theme across all of them and I couldn’t just let that slip by. The plant monster being out of place, that creature in the forest and the fact that Professor Chariot was calling Professor Croix about something she isn’t open to talking about, were all of these somehow connected to each other?

I had to ask her. There were too many things that could definitely be caused by each other. Or are connected in one way or another. “You think there’s something much bigger that ties all of this together?”

Tilting my head a bit upward to see her clearly, she still held her chin, her legs were crossed as her brows furrowed.

“I can’t say.” She didn’t look at me.

“You think—” I stopped. I didn’t know if she knew my encounter with the creature in the forest. I had to choose my words carefully. “...that there are other dangerous creatures out there? For the same reason?”

Her eyes definitely knew what I was talking about. I expected her to explain, or to tell me about it but she didn’t. Instead, she nodded her head without saying a word. Professor Chariot’s not going to tell me anything although I think she had answers to all my questions. And even if I tried to get it out of her, she gave me vague answers; leaving me with nothing but the same questions I asked in the first place.

“Oh, before I forget,” she said, a bit hurried. “I came here to give you this.” She stood up as she pulled out a necklace from her pockets and dangled it in front of me. I took it from her, bringing it closer to my face to check it out. Once I knew what it was, the inner Shiny Chariot fan in me squealed in glee.

It was a smaller version of her four pointed star as a gold charm, hanging on a chain necklace of the same color. Considering that it was only a charm, it was a heavier than I expected. I loved how the points also thinned out at the end, its edges blunted; which was the only thing that was off about it. I can’t believe I’m getting this, and from Shiny Chariot herself!

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I jumped up from the bed to give her a really tight hug. “I promise I’m going to take care of this!” I said a bit too excited as I tied it around my neck, clasping the symbol in my hand, still smiling like an idiot.

“I’m happy you like it. I honestly thought you wouldn’t…” She smiled at me as I continued to act like a crazed fangirl. Who was she kidding? She knew that I’d totally go crazy for this. “I’m always out of school because of my work but…” she hesitated a moment, tapping her chin with her gaze lingering on the window at the far side of the room, then said, “This’ll always remind you that you have me at your side.”

My stomach dropped, my smile flat lining as my eyes shot up to her. “You… make it sound like you’re going away.”

She ruffled my hair as a small laugh escaped her lips. “Don’t think silly things, Akko. I’m staying right here.”

But even with her assurance, that little sinking feeling in my gut didn’t go away.

We chatted a few more minutes before she had to leave. She didn’t stay any longer even though I wanted her to. Oh well, I expected another dull day without any other person to talk to. We all had classes until the late afternoon, so there really wasn’t any time for anyone to check up on me. I was already itching to leave, the thought of sneaking out bounced back and forth in my head but with the nurse checking up on me too often, I couldn’t leave.

The nurse came in when the bell struck 5:00 and took my chart. She waved her wand and smiled—which was weird because she never did that during the past screenings. Finally, she said the poison’s clear from my system and took the IV off of my hand. I thought I could leave but she instructed me to stay until she’s finished the paper work.

I changed into my uniform beside the bed since I was the only one there. When I was about to pull my undershirt over my head, I heard the door opening and closing behind me. Checking to see who it was, I saw Diana, her eyes wide with an expression I couldn’t really understand.

“I came earlier today.” She took a few steps toward me, handing me my vest that was hanging on the edge of the bed.

“Well, your timings perfect! Cause I’m just waiting for the nurse to come back with the paperwork— _whatever that is_.” I put on my vest and straightened out my uniform.

“Standard policies and procedures.” She said, crossing her arms.

In one of her hands was a small box that had me curious. “What’s that?” Pointing the box out.

“A box of cookies. I thought it’ll cheer you up. I’m certain that the food served in the infirmary is quite bland. I suppose you’d want a palate cleanser.”

I held out my hand, excited for the cookies—Diana always had the best baking skills and anything she makes always cheered me up. She was right about the food at the infirmary, it was really dull and boring. It’s like they boiled some chicken and veggies then served it to me. It didn’t even taste like they put any salt in it. Ick.

“I can't wait to eat these!” I said as she handed me the box. I opened it to a dozen cookies all laid out nicely inside. They were chocolate chip and _boy_ , I couldn’t wait to dig in.

I popped one whole cookie in my mouth and it melted. It wasn’t hot but it was gooey enough to be chewy and was so sweet and chocolate-y that I swore my mind just stopped functioning all together. This was exactly why I love her baking so much. When it came to this, she trumped Jasminka by a mile. “I missed the taste of sugar.”

“That’s a bit of an overreaction. It’s only been a day.”

“A day too long. Ugh, dinner last night was so bad. It didn’t even taste like anything. They served me the same thing for breakfast _and_ lunch.”

She shook her head. “As expected.”

“How can I function with food like that? Who even eats that?! I was suffering through every bite! They couldn’t even give me any ketchup or vinegar or salt! The nurse lady looked at me like I was some crazed freak when I asked for it!”

“It’s to give your body the right amount of nutrients. Going through that whole ordeal, your body needs to heal.”

“Then kill me with sugar and salt because that was more torture than getting poisoned.” I got her to chuckle at my reply.

She updated me on class things, reminding me of the assignments and readings she brought last night. I showed it to her, and she was amused that I’ve finished the assignment portion of it. “I was bored. There was nothing to do.”

“At least boredom had you motivated enough to finish most of your work on time. You wouldn’t have to rush all your answers a few minutes before class starts.”

“Oi Diana that’s not fair! It’s because I get so tired at night when I hit the room!” I crossed my arms and puffed my cheeks. “At least I get it done and turn it in on time. I don’t want to get a missed assignment.”

“That’s a fact I’ve observed, Akko. No need to get angry.” She was stifling a laugh, but it still escaped her lips. I was mad at what she said, but hearing her giggle because of my forgetfulness lightened my mood instantly. My scowled turned into a smile instead, a small huff escaping my lips before she settled down.

“You… never mentioned that you had a scar at your back.” She had her eyes on the door, not even looking a bit towards me. “Was that because of me?”

“Yeah, kinda... It burned through my clothes but I know you didn’t mean it! I was the one that jumped in front of your _Murowa_ so it’s more of my fault than yours.”

But even though I admitted that she didn’t cause it, she still stayed quiet. She nodded slowly as a response.

“Gee Diana, it’s not really a big deal! It got cured right away, thanks to Sucy! I’m alive right now!” Diana was probably sulking on the inside was sulking on the inside. She would never forgive herself on hurting anyone, even if it’s just an accident. I reached out her arm and gently stroked it, trying to get her to forget about it.  “Di…”

“Well, you’ll be discharged in a few minutes, and I’m already running late.” Her eyes darted instantly towards the wall clock. “I’ll have to leave now. I apologize. I planned on staying longer but my schedule’s tight today.”

I did want her to stay. I wanted to talk to her. There was this sinking feeling in my chest but I had to understand. It’s our last year in Luna Nova and definitely she’s got a lot to do.

“No biggie, Diana.” I tried my best not to sound too sad about it but I failed miserably. So I tried cover up my blunder by taking another cookie from the box. “The fact you passed by to feed me the best cookies in the world makes me so happy!” I popped another one of those heaven sent cookies in my mouth. “And these things awft ahmezhing I could eat them aww dhey.”

“Akko, please don’t talk when you have food in your mouth. I could barely make out what you’re saying.”

I swallowed, licking my lips and taking another one from the box. “I said these cookies are amazing! So thank you so much!”

“You are very much welcome.” She said as she stood. Her eyes darted from me to the wall clock. “You enjoy the rest of the box, okay? I made those for you.”

I like it when she does _this_. It makes me feel so special to have Diana bring me food. Or come here to visit me in spite of her busy schedule. I enjoyed her company and it makes my day just a bit brighter.

We said our goodbyes and Diana was out the door.

The nurse came by a few minutes after to give the signal that I’m free to leave. Before I could leave, she sent me off with one warning.

“Atsuko, please be a bit more careful when you journey outside. Your body can only take so much of your misconducts. Just because you can easily be patched up doesn’t give you freedom to do whatever it is that you want.”

It’s not like I could argue with her. So I did what any student would’ve done in the situation. I agreed with her by nodding politely. “I will. I promise.”

None of that was my fault anyway but I wanted to leave the infirmary and jump right back on track. It was starting to get dark when I left and the rumbling in my tummy suggested that it was almost dinnertime. I made my way back to the room as fast as I could. If I arrived earlier, I definitely sure I could catch up to the both my roommates before they went to the cafeteria.

* * *

 

Getting to our room way across the building took at least a good ten minute walk.  When I got there, I was expecting the both Sucy and Lotte to be neck deep in assignments or reports or whatever it was that Sucy was brewing at that moment.

This little bit of excitement was pooling up in me and I didn’t keep it to myself. So when I opened the door quickly screaming “GUYYYYS!” I was cut short by a huge book hitting me right across my face.

“Where is it? Oh my gosh, my mother’s going to kill me. Where is it!?”

The book that hit me square on my face fell to the floor with a loud thud, causing Lotte to jump up. “Akko!”

My vision as a bit blurry, add to that my nose being all itchy from the impact. I swear my face was red from being hit like that with a reference book that thick. I was glad I didn’t break my nose. That would’ve earned me another trip to the infirmary and I don’t want to see that nurse lady again.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” She rushed over to my side, picking up the papers and the empty box I dropped.

“I’m fine… I’m fine.” I managed to say before shaking my head out of it. I had a good look at the room once I came to and Sucy was nowhere in sight. I asked her, “Hey, you wanna go grab some food? I’m really hungry.”

She placed all my things on my desk then waved the box at me. “You still need this?” She asked as she examined the box.

“Nah,” I shook my head. “Kinda finished Diana’s cookies in one go soo…”

“That explains why it’s fancy…” She muttered under her breath before throwing it in the trash.

We went on our way to the cafeteria. Sucy was nowhere in sight so I had to ask. “Where’s Sucy?”

“She’s been in the lab for ages. She’s been trying to create this potion and has been at it for hours. I was supposed to accompany her but she took longer than usual. Her first one failed and I wasn’t prepared for the profanities that came out of her mouth.”

“Is this for class?” I asked.

She shook her head. “She’s been up to something and she’s pretty secretive about it. She’s been neck deep in books looking for the right ingredients, reagents and brewing times. She’s been at it since the start of class and I don’t think she’s taken a break from researching it.”

“She takes her potion making seriously. Remember that one time she stayed up all night making that sleeping beauty potion?”

Lotte shivered at that memory. “Yup. That’s Sucy for you.”

We arrived at the cafeteria and got our usual orders. This time around they were serving real food, unlike the previous years when they served different potato dishes. I couldn’t touch potatoes for a month after that. I even went as far as to steal the other food they served. I’d say, those little escapades I had sneaking around for pies were definitely worth the punishments I got for it.

I couldn’t talk to Lotte because I was too preoccupied with my dinner. She was still mumbling to herself about this piece of paper, or a document or a cardboard that she used as a bookmark in one of her books. In the middle of our dinner, she shrieked causing me to nearly jump in my seat as I let go of my chopsticks  

“Barbara!” She yelped. “It’s with Barbara! It’s definitely with her! I’m sure of it!”

I slurped my noodles, wiping my mouth on my sleeve before asking her, “What’s with Barbara?”

She didn’t hear me, scanning the entire cafeteria looking for Barbara. She stood up, leaving me with her half-eaten meal as she made her way to the table somewhere in the middle of the area.

I didn’t want to be left alone so I finished the last of my food as fast as I could before running over to Lotte. “Wait up!”

Well, Hannah and Barbara were seated beside each other—it was impossible to see one without the other. Hannah had her phone up, showing Barbara her screen as she squealed.

“Andrew’s still dreamy, you know,” Hannah said, her smile looking like she’s been hit by cupid’s arrow.

“Yes. But not _can you be my boyfriend_ status dreamy anymore.”

“But Barb! He’s still _so_ handsome, and look! He’s getting taller and he’s working out! Aren’t you getting the least bit excited about his muscles? Or his gorgeous, luscious hair. I bet he smells like sunshine and oranges...”

“Barbara!” Lotte called her, snapping the both of them out of their conversation. “I remember lending you my latest Nightfall book right? I inserted something in there as a bookmark, I need it badly right now.”

“Oh! Sure, it’s back in the room.” She said. “I’ll return it to you as soon as I can, I’ve finished it anyway. I keep forgetting to hand it over. Getting a bit too busy with school work and extracurricular.”

“I really need it now or I’m screwed, can I get it now?”

“Sure. Come with us back to the room,” she said as she stood up, tapping Hannah on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

They took their stuff, Hannah shoving her phone into her pockets, while Barbara slinging over her messenger bag on her shoulder.

“Where’s Diana?” I asked. It was weird that they weren’t hanging around Diana and it’s already dinner time. Usually, they’d have meals together unless one of them wasn’t in school

“You’re looking for her again? What are you? Her _mother_?”

Barbara laughed at Hannah’s joke even though it wasn’t funny. I stuck my tongue out at them. There was no way that they at least try to be nice to me and it was already getting on my nerves. Somehow, I wished Amanda drove the broom right into the both of them.

“Can’t you answer me for once without making such a fuss?” I balled my right hand into a fist, ready to strike at Hannah’s face but Diana’s voice at the back of my head was nagging me not to hurt them. “Fine, I’m leaving,” I shoved my hands into my pockets, turning on my heels as I walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Lotte asked, her voice worried.

Hannah and Barbara already got me pissed and I didn’t wanna talk to them anymore. If I could, I’d walk out on them right now but I didn’t want to leave Lotte just like that. “Back to the dorm. Maybe look for Sucy, I don’t know. I’ll see you later,” I mumbled, not even caring if they understood me or not.

I got out of there as fast as I could. No way was I spending another minute with Diana’s friends from the dark side. Lotte did say Sucy was back at the labs. Although it was on the other side of the building, it was still pretty early and I didn’t want to stay alone in the dorms.

* * *

 

The wooden door to the school’s laboratory was slightly ajar when I got there. The light coming from the inside cast a long, feint orange line across the marble floors of the hallway. I’m guessing this was coming from one of the lit stoves inside. Checking in as quietly as I could, I was right. Sucy was behind the small cauldron reading something from a book hovering beside her in the dark.

The door didn’t make any sound as I pushed it back to go inside. All that could be heard was from the bubbling brew Sucy was making. She stood over the small pot, the light from the fire illuminating her face.

“What’s that?” I managed to say through the smoke that filled the air.

Her eyes shot up to meet mine, her brows furrowed making her looked so annoyed. “What are you even doing here?”

I sorta felt a bit sad that she sounded like she didn’t want me to be here. It’s not like I came here to annoy here. I honestly wanted company and she was the only one I could run to at the moment. I had no intention to bother her.

“I’m bored. Lotte’s gone with Hannah and Barbara and I don’t wanna be hanging out with the blue team without Diana.” I walked over to her, looking at those half opened jars she had laid out on the station in front of her. “Lotte needed something from a book she lent to Barbara so she left me alone.”

“I told Lotte to quit lending her stuff to that _bruha’s_ minions but she never listens. Something about how fandom should stick together regardless of circumstance. I don’t get her.” I’ve never seen Sucy flustered but this was a first. She took an unopened bottle, then sprinkled a dash of that onto the pot and it made her concoction glow bright green for a while before simmering down to a deep, dark red.

“Diana’s not a _bruha_.” I spat out. She always refers to her like she’s some evil witch but Diana’s not.

“Of course she _isn’t_ ,” she said sounding sarcastic.

“That’s a pretty color,” I said, taking slow steps towards her, inhaling the smoke coming from her pot. “Whoa. Why does this smell like morning in here?”

“...morning?”

“Yeah. But like a pleasant morning! Or if the morning... took a bath? A fresh morning, with flowers and powder and… I don’t know. It smells really fresh!” Her forehead was in a knot and I was just as confused as she was and I had this nagging urge to try to explain it more to save me from looking like a fool. “Not that weird, grassy smell when I wake up to jog but it’s kinda close. Minus _that_ smell.”

“You’re still not making any sense.” She peeked into her pot, inhaling the steam that came from it.

I took another whiff of the air since it was addicting to sniff. “Just when I thought everything you made smelled toxic, you make something that doesn’t want to make me wanna barf.”

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she continued to stir her pot. “...interesting.”

“What potion are you making?” I tried to peek at the little cauldron she had on top of the low-set fire but she was too far away. “You never answered my question.”

“I’m not telling you what it is. It’s none of your business.”

“Sucy!” I took another step forward but stopped at when she suddenly reached the top shelf.

She took a bottle from the edge and splashed its contents on the floor in front of me. “ _Juras Haras Haras!”_

It wasn’t until she conjured her spell that I noticed that there were ropes laid out on the ground. It formed a ball around me; sealing me inside like a prison. Being such a slow poke, I wasn’t able to get out of it immediately. It sealed up and hardened around me, sending me into panic.

“Sucy! Let me go!” I pounded her little cage-like construction but that didn’t work. I tried to get my arm to grab her through the holes but she was too far away.  “Hey this isn’t fair!”

Sucy didn’t even look my way even when I kept screaming out her name. She had her eyes focused on the pot, still stirring it slowly. “When I’m done, I will. Can’t have you moving around in a lab full of breakables.”

I groaned. “Sucy this isn’t fair! I’ve been confined the entire day yesterday in one room and now you’re keeping me in a cage! And this was smaller than the last one! Let me out!”

“I’m saving the rest of the world from the disaster you are when you’re left unattended. Having you around here without supervision makes me anxious. I’m in the middle of something and I need my full attention on it.”

My jaw clenched. It’s like everybody treated me like a child. “Why does everyone here think I’m a kid?! I’m not a kid!”

“That’s doesn’t change anything you’ve done in the past,” she said. She finally looked at me with those dead-pan eyes, her eye bags looking deeper than I remember. “Relax, this’ll be done in a few minutes. So keep quiet.”

No, I wasn’t going to keep quiet. I wanted to get out of this contraption _now_. I pounded the side of the rope cage one more time to get her attention. “C’mon Sucy! You know me! I’m not going to cause any trouble!”

“Who are you kidding?” She snickered. “You’re capable of getting into trouble faster than the speed of light. I’m not taking any chances.”

“Fine,” I spat. She isn’t going to let me go so I felt defeated. She had a point. My elbows were crossed as I leaned back on the cage, my back hitting the edge of the nearest table to it. “How long are you going to take?”

“Don’t you listen?” She mumbled something under her breath in an angry way.

She kept stirring the pot, checking it’s consistency from time to time as she raised the ladle, letting this goopy liquid drop down into the pot. She was right, it only took a few more minutes until she reached for a large, empty vial over on the top shelf.

“You never told me what that potion is.”

She popped the cork from it and placed it on the cooling rack in front of her. She looked at me before asking, “If I told you what it was, will you stop bothering me?”

“Well yeah!” I sounded too eager. Well, obviously I only wanted to know what she was making especially since it smelled really good—the other potions don’t deserve any attention cause they all smelled bad. Come to think of it, the potions we made in class either reeked or didn’t smell like anything at all. “Maybe you’re making perfumes! This one really smells awesome!”

I was expecting her to retort, to call me stupid or crazy but instead she just shrugged her shoulders. She then directed her focus on the cauldron, carefully transferred the potion from the cauldron into the vial. The steam coming out of it was really pretty, changing from white to this feint pink back to white again a few times. Her eyes were glued on her concoction as she toyed with the cork around her fingers.

I waited for her to answer like a puppy waiting on a treat. It wasn’t until a few more seconds passed that I realized that she didn’t have any intention to answer my question. Instead, she continued to watch her creation motionless and without sound.

“Sucy?” I cried out her name. “Sucy!”

“What?” She answered almost instantly, not even looking at me sounding so annoyed. Well, I wouldn’t have been annoying if she didn’t keep me cooped up.

“You said you’d tell me what that is!” I said, pounding on the rope crate she kept me in. “And get me out of here! You said you’d let me out when you’re done!”

“I’m not done yet.” She hissed, watching the smoke coming from the vial. She took her palm and hovered it over the vial, breaking it up. “And I didn’t say I’d tell you what this is.”

“I’m telling Lotte!” God, Sucy’s sometimes insufferable! I was getting impatient, pounding on the rope cage again. “At least get me out of here! It’s so stuffy!”

She kept quiet, consistently ignoring me as I fought to get her attention. It was only when the smoke thinned out that she took the vial by the mouth and sniffed it.

“Sure, that’ll help. Good luck with that,” She said. With a smile, she sealed with the cork, wrapping it in cloth before tucking it away in one of her black hole pockets. Taking a few steps toward me, she dug through one of her pockets, taking out a smaller bottle before pouring its contents on the rope.

“ _Livre Haras Haras_ ,” she chanted.

The rope softened around me and I felt relieved. “Took you long enough!” I screamed at her. Though it was only a short time that she kept me caged, it felt like forever.

She casted a cleaning spell which only took a few seconds for all the jars and the cauldrons to go from messy to squeaky clean. She levitated everything back to its proper place—the cauldron hung on the shelves at the back of the lab while the jars of ingredients nested on the upper shelf near the door.

Once she was done, she walked past me gesturing that I follow her quickly. She closed the door as slowly and as quietly as possible, looking up and down the hallways before walking towards the direction of our room.

“Why are you acting like that?” I said as I walked beside her. “Are you not allowed in there?”

She shrugged her shoulders. Just when I thought I was about to get a good answer from her, she said. “That’s none of your business.”

Fine. _Fine._ I don’t think I’ll ever get her to talk about her intentions but I guess that’s fine. At least she didn’t let me leave, allowing me to stay with her even though she did put me in that stupid rope cage the entire time in the lab. At least, for the evening, I wasn’t alone.

* * *

 

We arrived at the room with Lotte already in her jammies. She was about to climb up to her bed when we opened the door.

“So, were you able to make your potion?” She asked Sucy, going back down to face us.

“Didn’t think I’d finish it tonight since all my tried ended up either burnt or the wrong color. But bonehead over here arrived and everything turned out just fine.”

“Hey, who are you calling bonehead?!” I snapped.

“She helped?” Lotte asked, her mouth forming a small “o” with her brows nearly touching the top of her hairline.

“Wait.” I’m also on the same boat as Lotte, stopping in the middle of my tracks that she pointed it out. “I helped? All I did was sit there in that _stuffy cage_ you kept me in!” That last part sounding angry, my fist in a ball in the air nearly hitting Sucy. “Lotte! She kept me in a cage!”

Sucy just nodded as she took her night clothes from her side of the closet. “I’m off to shower.” And with that, she was gone.

I turned to Lotte as she continued going up to her bed. “Any chance you know what she’s talking about?”

The bed creaked as she settled in on it. “I haven’t got a clue. Whatever it is, she’ll explain it later on. Give her time.”

“More like, if she has the time,” I said as I stretched my arms to the ceiling, letting out a yawn as I did. “I’m glad the week’s near over. I can finally chill. These past days have been horrible. Just one more day.”

“Oh!” She said as she peeked from the top. “By the way, the green team’s planning some sort of picnic this weekend. Amanda’s asking if you’d like to join.”

“That sounds totally fun! It’s kinda random though, wonder why they’d call a picnic all of a sudden.”

“It’s because midterms are coming up. We won’t have any more time next week.”

I let out a chuckle. “That never stopped Amanda before! But I guess I get it. It wouldn’t be so fun if she went on a picnic all by herself. You’re going right?”

“I might. I need to wind down after all the school work. Sucy said she’s thinking about tagging along too.”

“What do you mean _you might_?” I ran over to her, took a step on my bed and grabbed the cuff of her leg causing her to flinch. “Come on Lotte, you hafta go! It’ll be fun! And don’t worry about Sucy, she’s gonna be with us. Leave it to me! She can’t say no to me!”

“You really are too persuasive.” All those years being friends with Lotte, I knew what that sigh meant. She’s _definitely_ going. “I’ll make some time.”

“Yeah!” I let go of her pant leg, taking a step down and started to walk towards the closet. I still haven’t showered the entire day and I’m starting to stink. “Oh, is the blue team coming?”

“That, I’m not so sure. I didn’t ask. I’m sorry.”

“Oh well. Amanda wouldn’t leave out Diana right? Diana’s going to be there?” My earlier encounter with Hannah and Barbara this evening flashed through my mind. “Wait. Where’s Diana?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m sure she isn’t in school since Hannah and Barbara did say she’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“I wonder where she is.” She said her schedule’s full but I thought it was because of school stuff. “Anyway, Lotte, I’m gonna shower up.”

“Okay Akko. I might sleep ahead. So, see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Lotte. Sweet dreams,” was the last I’ve said before I went on my way to the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major apologies. Life happened and I couldn’t allot enough time to read through and sew up patches in this chapter. This one’s on me. I am really sorry for the wait. Also, because life is still currently happening, my updates would be sporadic.
> 
> I FORGOT:  
> bruha - tagalog for witch (but in a demeaning way).


	10. Chapter 10

Even though I wanted to turn in early that night, I couldn't. I'd toss and turn, trying to find that perfect spot but my body wouldn’t let me sleep peacefully even though I normally would. My thoughts were keeping me up, and the more I tried to push all of it to the back of my head, it made me think of more and things to ponder on.

I wasn’t tired at all. It must’ve been all that time lying down in the clinic.

Somewhere in the middle of my tossing and my turning, I thought _SCREW IT_ and tossed my blanket aside.

Both my roommates were already sound asleep and checking out the time on the clock, it showed that it was past midnight.

There was nothing to do in the room to tire me out. Counting sheep’s never a good thing to do, it makes me stay up more. I’m not going to read up on class (since it’s the weekend). My homework’s done since I finished it all in the clinic. It would’ve been a good idea to watch some videos on the Witch’s Network, but besides the fact that it’s _super slow_ , watching a video would definitely wake Sucy and Lotte up—that’s something I don’t want ever happening again.

Just when I thought there was nothing else I could do to pass the time, my tummy started to growl.

“ _Okay_ , midnight snacks it is!”

Jasminka loves giving us food at random times of the year. She’s known for that, and at the start of class, she handed me a basket of treats and chips that I’ve stored underneath our table. She always told us that it’s always a good idea to keep food in your room _just in case of emergency._

And _this_ was an emergency. I was bored and I’m going to go crazy if I don’t do anything. So, I scurried over to my snack basket under my table.

Upon checking, Sucy’s bottles were all over the place. I don’t understand why she has so many bottles of those brewed potions under here. She has a shelf. She’s the only one _with_ a shelf and she’s using all the space under the table. Anyway, pushing those jars to the left gave me access to my snack basket. The big bag looked tasty, so that’s the one I got.

As I sat on the chair, I opened the bag and popped on in my mouth. I expected the taste to take me away. Jasminka’s always made sure to say that these were the best.

It wasn’t _that_ fantastic, but I guess it was okay-ish. It’s not that bad.

The moon gave light through the dim, dusky clouds. It was shining so bright that the sky seemed starless that night. It reminded me of Shiny Chariot’s show back in Japan. It was the only time I’ve seen it but I remember everything that happened that day. I’ve got her routine memorized to the core; from the spells to the choreography. There’s no part of that show that I would forget.

And I wanted to experience it again. I had to watch it again. I took my wand from the side of my table and prepared to cast myself my own version of Shiny Chariot’s show.

Projection hasn’t always been my strongest magic but I’m starting to get a little better at it. Before I casted the spell, I popped three of those rice crackers into my mouth. I waved my wand over my desk, setting up the illusion as close to how I remember it.

“ _Projet Pensees.”_

The illusion in front of me glowed a dull red, each of the show’s elements popping up as I tried to envision it clearly. If I keep my focus, I’ll be able to cast the entire show in a hologram in front of me correctly with my thoughts alone.

There’s a huge crowd facing the stage, awaiting Shiny Chariot’s appearance. She comes in as Alcor, speeding above the crowd, slowing down as she reaches the stage. The illusion slowly takes it’s time landing, then in one final swing, Alcor transforms itself into a hat, automatically followed by a big, green explosion of smoke.

She comes out, smiling and welcoming us all to the _Land of Magic_ before calling out the Shiny Rod out of thin air. There was nothing cooler than seeing Chariot up on stage. Her smile, her energy was contagious and when I was a kid, I could’ve sworn that _that_ was the best day of my life.

And even when she waving the Shiny Rod up there, I was still mesmerized. She was dancing this happy dance, twirling around while the Shiny Rod’s trail glowed a bright green to her choreography. Now that I’m thinking about it, it looked like she didn’t have steps to her show. Instead, she was just having a blast, making her audience laugh and smile along with her.

It seemed crazy now but she sure did have fun drowning us for a little while after her entrance. She summoned a huge wave that washed over the seats, making me hold my breath as panic surged through me for a moment. It was all part of her act after all, as she surfed that wave. Once it subsided, we were all brought to this place above the stars.

Everyone was in awe. They were all smiling, their mouths still hanging open from the scene around us. It was like she brought us in the middle of the galaxy, and she was our shining star.

I wanted to be like her. To be able to see all these people smiling because of me. To be inspired by the happiness that magic brings.

My projection fizzled out in the middle of my thoughts. I started to panic, screaming the spell one more time but I failed. No more projection. My magic gave up on me. All I was left with is my empty desk with nothing but the moonlight’s trail painted across its surface.

“No!” I screamed, banging my desk with my hand. “C’mon,” I tapped my wand on the table in high hopes of bring my projection back.

It didn’t.

“ _Projet Pensees!”_ It was frustrating. There was no sparkle, not even any sign that my projection was coming back. I had to try harder.

“ _Pro_ —” I was interrupted by a pillow aimed straight at my head, nearly tipping me off my chair.

“Go to sleep, you moron. Stop making a racket.”

“My projection magic isn’t holding up. Stupid wand’s broken, I think,” I explained, taking the pillow from the ground before tossing it to Sucy.

“Then practice it _somewhere else_. If I wake up one more time to that racket, I’m tying you down to your bed.”

“Bu—“

She didn’t let me finish as she threw a rope around me. Next thing I knew was she had a bottle of potion in her hand, ready to be hurled in my direction if I didn’t quiet down.

“Hey, hey!” I was panicking, scrambling to untangle myself from the rope she threw. _No more_ , I was tired of being tied down, or trapped, or caged or anything else like that! “I get it, I get! I'll go somewhere else!”

I didn’t have to leave if my magic didn’t fizzle out on me anyway. All that practice and it’s still not enough. I’m years behind compared to what the others can do. Like, I can’t even hold a spell for more than 10 minutes and Chariot’s shows last for _hours_. How am I supposed to even hold a spell that long if I’m having trouble keeping a simple spell, _a basic spell_ , lit?  I have to find a way to become better fast, or else everyone else is gonna leave me behind.

I secured my wand tight across my belt as I left the room quietly. Getting kicked out of my room made me feel bad. But at least, if I went somewhere else, I didn’t have to rely on a projection to watch Shiny Chariot’s show—I could remake it.

It was perfect! I needed to practice magic, so now, I can. And I will _._

There’s only one place in the entire school that the teachers don’t really keep an eye on. Not even the student’s patrol the area since it’s too far from the main building.

That’s gonna be the north building. It’s perfect! There’s no one there because it’s off-limits. The fact the building’s also isolated is a big plus. I can scream all I want and no one would hear me!

The only problem was getting there. Student patrols (Or as Sucy calls them, _Diana’s lackeys_ ) and the teachers go around the hallways at this hour to make sure we’re all asleep by curfew.  I just had to be sure not to get caught.

I’m still behind on my detention hours so I had to be extra sneaky as I made my way there. It’s a long walk, the school itself is huge, and it’s really impossible that I don’t run into any of the students out on patrol. Hopefully though, I’ll be able to talk myself out of them. I’m hoping that it’s either Mary or Blair assigned tonight since they’re much more forgiving than the rest of the class.

At least Diana’s out of school right now. If she caught me, I’m sure I won’t be able to explain my way out of her.

Although there weren’t any students in the dormitories when I snuck out, I still had to keep an eye out for the others. Sometimes, Wangari and her journalism club members are also on the prowl, looking for the next scoop in the weirdest places of the school and there’s no other. There’s also Veroshka, who never skips a day of practicing her magic martial arts. I can’t have any them telling on me.

The trip would’ve been easier if I didn’t have to constantly sneak around like I’m on my way to steal something. Looking left and right before turning into hallways took so much of my time. Trying to get my shoes not to squeak as I stepped made me move slower.

I was lucky enough that I didn’t bump into anyone on my way to the stairs of the main building. But the moment I got to the stairway, there was a bunch of murmuring echoing through it. Footsteps sounded like they were only ahead of me by a flight. So I crept over to the rails, peaked over to see who was there.

It was a bunch of professors. More specifically, Headmistress Holbrooke, Professor Finnelan, Professor Badcock and Professor Ricaforte.

All the nights that I snuck out, they decided to go out too. Their timing was bad. They were walking only a few steps in front of me. I was praying that none of them would sense me or I would be totally dead. I didn’t want another encounter with either Professor Ricaforte or Professor Finnelan. Not at this time of night past curfew.

“It’s an honor to host the Magic Assembly here but must we really keep the Compendium on school grounds? Our facility is not well-equipped with the necessary technology to ensure that the Compendium would not fall on ill hands.”

“Miranda, might I remind you that _we are witches_. There is no need for technology. Only the right spell. It’s also wise to set up proper detection magic around it, this’ll ensure that no one would be able to acquire it.”

“Of course, but compared to the Magic Ministry, there’s no denying that the Compendium would be well guarded there than it’ll ever be here.”

“Do not fret. I can assure you that the Compendium will be safe.”

Trying to keep myself quiet while following them behind was what kept me ages on the stairway. It was rotten luck that they were headed the same direction as I did and I can’t pass them. And even if I wanted to get to the north building faster, I can’t overtake them. No way would I want to bump into their little group, especially since both Professor Finnelan and Professor Ricaforte were right there.

Once they reached the ground floor, I thought I would be able to finally move faster but I was wrong. They stopped on the last step, Professor Finnelan leading the group towards the direction of the library but Headmistress Holbrooke stopped, causing the entire group to look back at her.

“I’m still doubtful about this,” she muttered. She faced Professor Ricaforte, adjusting her glasses as she glanced above Professor Ricaforte’s shoulder.

She saw me. _Crap_ , Headmistress Holbrooke saw me.

I ducked behind the rails as quick as I could. It was impossible that she didn’t see me because for a brief moment, we _made_ eye contact. “Please, _please,_ don’t see me,” was what I was muttering to myself as I clasped my clammy hands together. I didn’t go all this way to be sent back to my room after all this.

She cleared her throat then said, “I can’t wrap my head around the idea.”

Relief washed over me. “Thank you, Kami-sama.” I said to no one in particular. If she did see me, at least she didn’t call me out.

“Don’t worry. Apart from Francoise’s magic, there’s a good number of students on patrol. I’m also in charge of nightly rounds just to be sure that we have our area covered. Nothing can go wrong.”

That made me snicker. It was so obvious that Professor Finnelan was trying to prove herself better than Professor Ricaforte. Didn’t know if it would work, but at least she’s trying.

I peeked over again to see that they were walking slowly towards the library, which works in my favor. I was going to the north building, and that was the on the other side of the hallway.

So, when they turned their way towards the library, I made a mad dash around the stairs and dropped down behind the landing near the sewers.

Before I walked into the hallways, it had to be clear.  I had my back against the wall and all I could do was listen whether they were already in the library or not. It was nifty that the library doors were heavy since it creaks when you open it. But just to be sure, I peeked from the side of the wall to see if they were all gone.

_What was that?_ All this fuss about a big black book. It looked like the ones Diana had on her bookshelf, except this one’s a thousand times thicker. They had it levitating with a small, light bubble around it, floating between Headmistress Holbrooke and Professor Ricaforte as they went into the library.

All this fuss to transport a book to the library? I can never really understand why that’s important—maybe it’s ‘cause I’m not from a witch family.

“Oh, hey Akko!” A trembling hand on my shoulder tore me away from my thoughts.

“Amanda!” I yelped. If it weren’t for her short orange hair, I wouldn’t have recognized her at all; mainly because it was dark out here. She’s usually looking spiff, but right now she smelled like beer, dirt and smoke. _That tipped me off_. It’s not normal for her to sneak out of school alone. Usually she’d bring Constanze, Jasminka or some other willing student to tag along with her. “Keep your voice down! The professors might hear you.”

She seemed out of breath, turning her head towards the other side of the hallway. Her usual cool, calm demeanor was replaced by something restless. Actually, it even looked like she was trying to escape from something. She ran a hand through her hair from the base of her neck right up to the top of her head, revealing this huge gash mark from the bottom of her hairline running towards the collar of her shirt, all scuffed up and torn.

“Amanda, what happened to you?! You look beat up!”

“Yeah, I got in a little ...fight at the bar. Nothing to it, some make-up cover-up what-not magic and it’s gonna look like I was never in a fight.”

She’s trying to hide but I had to check it out. The way the gash was didn't sit well with me. “That doesn’t look right. You sure you don’t want to get that checked?”

“Why? If I did that, I’ll be reported to the discipline’s office. They’ll know I snuck out. It’s just a scratch anyway. It’ll heal.”

She’s lying through her teeth and I knew it. Amanda never sustains injuries from any of the bar fights she’s been in the past. She’s too graceful and too fast for anyone to land a blow to her neck like that.

“Are you hiding something?” I wasn’t letting this go.

“No,” came her automatic reply, shutting me down.

“Where’d you come from anyway?”

She stopped a little, looking to the right before answering me. “Uh… Oh! There’s this new bar in Blytonbury and I had to check it out... Radio Rooftop _I think_? Rumors have it that it’s pretty decent so I went.” She checked our surroundings again, this time, she was eyeing the sewers. “That can be locked right?”

“Gee Amanda, I don’t know?” It’s weird. The school sewer entrance right there at the ground floor right beside the stairs. Still strikes me as odd, but Diana explained to me that it’s an ancient architecture. They probably still haven’t thought of moving the entrance especially with the school’s financial crisis—I overheard this from Headmistress’ Holbrooke’s office one time before.

“Eh, whatever.”

“You went out on a Friday night without your teammates. Or anyone else. What are you hidi—”

“Oi, Akko. You also gotta keep your voice low.” I wouldn’t be mad if she didn’t pet my head—a subtle way of telling me that I’m shorter than her. I tried to snatch her hand but she retracted it quickly. “Don’t tell anyone I was out,” were her last words as she made a mad dash up the stairs.

She was out of my sight before I got the chance to hit back.

Anyway, the coast was clear and there were no teachers in sight. Getting to the north building was easy, although sometimes I still forget the directions. All I remember is that it’s down this hall and I’m off towards the sealed section of the school.

I was close. I only had to sneak past the last hallway and I can get myself to the north building. But when I darted towards it, my feet were suddenly off the ground. “Wha—”

“What are you doing here?”

There was no time to react. Next thing I knew, I was up in the air. I was dangling from an invisible hook by my waist like those big fishes hanging at the market. Struggling to get down did no use, but that didn’t stop me. I flailed myself around, spinning me a bit as I finally was eye to eye with the patrol holding me up.

Hannah England. That _witch_. Just when I was about to get out of the hallways, she appeared. There was nothing that I liked about her. And it was annoying enough that she was smirking at me, looking at me as if I’ve done something wrong. To make things clear, I wasn’t doing anything to hurt anyone. I wasn’t going out of my way to break stuff. Going out to practice magic is _not_ doing something wrong.

“HANNAH PUT ME BACK DOWN.”

I wanted to strangle her. Stupid patrols. They weren’t even allowed to patrol this area, why was she even here to begin with?!

“I will,” came her conceited reply. I swear I can never be civil with Diana’s teammates even though Sucy and Lotte didn’t really care much about them. They hate me, and they love to do these kinds of things to me. The feeling was mutual because I also didn’t like them. It’s impossible to like someone when their goal is to embarrass me on a daily basis. If they could get me kicked out of school, they definitely would. “I’ll drop you off i _n Professor Finnelan’s office_. You’re not even supposed to be out. It’s a violation against curfew that you’re out. Plus, you’re walking around in off-limit sections of the school.”

I groaned, crossing my arms. “Let me go!”

“That’s going to go against orders. As patrols, we’re supposed to be watching the halls. We’re supposed to report anyone who’s loitering, like now, for instance. Why are you even outside your room? It’s not like you have anything else to do.” She sighed, flipping her ponytail before saying, “But knowing you, you’re probably on your way to cause some sort of trouble.”

“I’m not going to cause trouble so put me down!”

She snickered. Her wands shifted to the right and it made me move in that direction, jogging me in the head. I wanted to scream at her but she spoke first. “No way Akko. You’re violating school rules and it’s my duty to report you.”

I bit my lip. My patience was running dry and I was ready to pounce and pull her hair—which I was so ready to do the moment she releases me.

“Let me go—WOAH!” My chin hit the ground, a surge of pain running throughout my entire body as I tasted a mouthful of grass, blood and dirt. As if I didn’t have enough bruises already, Hannah dropped me without warning. “You did this on purpose!” I accused her, spitting the filth and wiping my tongue on my sleeve.

Instead of giggling at her cruel joke, she shook her head, ignoring me as she tapped her wand. “What the hell?” I heard her mutter. “Stupid thing.” It took a few more seconds to dawn on me that Hannah didn’t mean to let me go. She checked the battery on her wand and from where I was, the bars were moving up and down at a rapid pace. “It’s malfunctioning.”

I stood up, ready to pounce as her. She’s distracted, and I’m sure that if I move quickly enough, I can tackle her.

But the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind Hannah stopped me.

“May I ask what business do you have _outside_ your quarters at this hour?”

The tone of her voice was so familiar that I knew exactly who it was without seeing the person per se. “Oh, hi Diana.” I looked over Hannah’s shoulder to see blonde hair with tea-green highlights. _Of course_ , she had her arms crossed. That frown on her face was also expected. “I... couldn’t sleep.” I blurted out.

“And you’ll find the solution to your dilemma wandering around at this particular hour? Have you no respect for the school rules?”

“Well, yeah. No! I mean, I don’t wanna break the rules! I tried to sleep and staying in the room didn’t do anything! Also, Sucy kicked me out cause I was making so much noise and I figured practicing my magic somewhere else would help...” In the middle of my thinking, it struck me that _she_ was out too. And she wasn’t on patrol. Which meant she was also violating the schools curfew! “Hey, why am I the only one in trouble here? You’re out here too which means you’re in trouble too! Wait, you’re not supposed to be at school. Why are you here?”

“My whereabouts shouldn’t concern you.”

“Don’t worry Diana. I’m gonna report her.” Hannah wanted to sound important, like the suck-up she usually is. I don’t know why she had to do that.

“We’ll let you off with a warning,” Diana said instantly, dismissing Hannah’s judgement.

“Eh?” Hannah’s jaw dropped to the floor. Couldn’t blame her, I was also surprised and confused at the same time. Especially since I’ve been caught more than enough times out of curfew in the last year. Well, at least I’m not getting any detention. Just when I thought bumping into Diana would do me more harm than good, she lets me off with a _warning_.

“Are you being serious right now?” Hannah asked her. “She’s _outside_. We always catch her outside. We’re supposed to bring her to Professor Finnelan.”

“This is the first time this school year. Offences refresh at the start of the school year. That applies to Akko too.”

Hannah huffed, displeased with Diana’s outright judgment. “I still think we have to report her.”

Diana shook her head lightly. She walked towards Hannah and stood beside her. “The next time we do catch you outside of curfew, we will bring you to the office,” she faced me with the stern eyes. “Without question,” she added.

“Why don’t we bring her in now?”

“Must I repeat myself?”

“Yeah, Hannah. Do you have something in your ear?” I crossed my arms. Hannah really wanted to report me, though I’m not surprised. There’s nothing new there. “I won’t get into trouble. If you leave me alone, I promise I’ll behave.”

“That doesn’t give me any guarantees you’ll stay out of trouble.”

“I swear I won’t.” I had my hands up. Well, I just wanted to practice my magic. Why would I go looking for trouble anyway? “Besides, it’s to make me sleepy. Try being cooped up in that stuffy ol’ clinic for a day and a half and see how your night goes. Don’t think you’ll be sleepy at this time.”

“There are other alternatives that do not require breaking of any of the school rules. Counting shee—”

I laughed. “I tried but I end up losing count.” I stopped her there because every time I try to lull myself to sleep with sheep, I end up even more awake than most. “Please don’t report me. I’m still catching up to a week’s worth of punishments.”

“This is still no place for students. Rules are rules, Akko.”

“Yeah.” Hannah looked pleased, crossing her arms with a smile on her face. “We really should turn her in.”

“We will _not_.” Although it wasn’t obvious, Diana stressed out the _not_ in her sentence. “Continue your rounds, Hannah. I’ll be escorting Akko back to the Western Dormitories myself.” She always commanded the patrol committee with that tone.

Hannah shook her head, giving Diana a small discriminating smile while looking at me with a displeased face. I stuck my tongue out at her.

“I find it weird you’re sticking up for her. She’s ruining the school’s reputation. She isn’t even from a witch family. She’s caused nothing but trouble.”

“I’m _simply_ going by the school’s policies, Hannah.”

“Policies, _schmolicies_. If it were Amanda, you’d be different.”

“Because her record shows that she’s violated the curfew more than enough times these past months.”

Hannah backed off, crossing her arms. “Suit yourself. You stick up for Akko much more than you should.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Just sayin’, _Diana_.”

“Do not confuse duty with your own personal disdain against Akko, _Hannah_.”

“Whatever, Di.” She waved her hand, sorta like clearing out the air. “Anyway, Barb’s got the door unlocked like you said. I’ve got some halls to cover still.”  She turned her back toward us after saying, “Bye.”

Diana’s face scrunched up a bit as Hannah turned and headed back towards the main building.

I had to ask. I’ve never seen them like this. “Were… you guys fighting?”

“Not your concern.” She shut me down, not even answering me properly. I wasn’t sure what I expected from that anyway. She walked towards me, standing close to me that I could smell her perfume—she smelled nice. She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get you back to your room, shall we?”

I thought about that question. I thought about it _a lot_. All that sneaking around, only to be stopped when I’m only a few more steps to the finish line. If I went back now, I’ll be stuck with my thoughts, tossing and turning, hoping that somehow that sleep would wash over me.

“Nope! No way!” I’ve gone through all this trouble. I wanted to practice my Shiny Chariot routine and that’s final. Not even Diana can change my mind. I yanked her forearm and pulled her toward the direction of the north building.

“And you’re coming with me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, as you all know, life's been pretty rough. Anyway, I'd like to extend my thanks to the following people:  
> 
> 
>   
>  1\. **PorSupuest0** \- Seriously, the support I get from you is uplifting, more so that you think. Your reviews fire me up every time and I want to finish the stories in my head. I can't let you down, buddy!  
>  2. **madiKaldwin** \- I swear, you talked me out of my slump and you didn't even know it. I've been dealing with a few demons and you unconsciously helped me through it. Thanks man. I appreciate it.  
>  3\. **Mato** \- You serve as an inspiration. Each update you have (for your stories) makes me want make more of my own (for revenge, lol). Anyway, I think the Marianne Williamson quote applies to you the most. " And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." P.S. I'm the others, and you are the we. If you get. Ugh, words.  
>  4\. **Lastly, TheHardestFall.** Honestly, you have the biggest thanks here. Without you, I wouldn't have even finished typing up this chapter. Heck, I'd still be continuously doubting myself but hey, look! I got it done! Thank youuuuuuuuuu so much. I owe you drinks. :)


	11. Chapter 11

“Akko!” She didn’t expect my sudden decision so she had to run with me towards the north building. “Hey!”

“I’m not going back there. I’m going to practice my magic, and you’re going to help me!”

I could feel her pulling back on my grip but I was stronger. No way was I going to let her go.

As we arrived at the north building, I slowed down. I can’t believe that this area still looked exactly how it was the year before. It was still serene, far from student traffic and it was well lit— _thanks to the full moon_.

Once we stopped, she yanked her arm back from my grip with force. I looked back at her at and saw that she was really angry. She dusted off her sleeve, pulling the waist part of her uniform to even out the ruffles she got from running with me.

“Diana.”

She continued to gussy up with a frown. I kept calling her attention, waving my hand in front of her but she still wasn’t looking at me.

“Hey Diana.”

She didn’t budge at all, even subtly turning _away_ from me after I called her. Now it was obvious that she was ignoring me.

“Diana Cavendish.” I poked her. She still wasn’t answering and she was _scowling_. At the time, I could only assume she was still mad at Hannah. “Hey Diana,” I poked her shoulder again. “Are you mad?”

“What a _remarkable_ observation," she spat.

“Is this about Hannah?”

She stopped, turning over to face me with the angriest eyes I’ve seen her pull. She took a deep breath before answering me.

“It’s past midnight. _Beyond_ curfew. That little encounter with Hannah should at least have jogged that brain of yours! We’re supposed to be heading towards the dormitories, getting ourselves ready for bed.” She faced me, glaring daggers that I swore penetrated my very soul. “Instead, you’ve purposely done the opposite!”

“Relax. We’ll be quick.” I assured her. I only planned on doing the first few minutes of the show. I still haven’t nailed the water illusion part yet. Eventually though, I will. But not right now. “Besides, I need you to judge if this looks good.”

“ _By the nines_ , Akko.” Diana pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s _late._ I don’t have enough energy to tolerate your schemes.” She took another deep breath. “Should it matter, I’m _exhausted_. I have important matters to attend to in five hours and with this little excursion of yours, I won’t have any time to sleep!”

“Please?” I was giving her the best puppy-dog eyes I could show, and it was obvious that she’s trying to resist it.

I waited and waited, but she still didn’t react _at all_ to my attempt to calm her down. She crossed her arms and huffed, breaking our silence.

“Would you _please_ stop it with those eyes. Your eyeballs will fall right out of their sockets should you force them _any wider_.” My expression dropped and shifted to a pout. “Let it be clear that _that_ ridiculous expression does not, and will never, work on me.”

It backfired. She was angrier than she was a minute ago. Initially I thought that would’ve worked since it does most of the time. Note to self, cross Diana off the list of people that love puppy dog eyes.

“Oh, come on Diana! Can you forgive me this once?”

“ _Once,_ in your case, is an understatement, Akko. Once means on _one_ occasion.” She turned her heel and started walking towards the main building. “I can name a dozen instances where I’ve been more than forgiving with you and your escapades! We’re going back and that’s final!”

“But those _occasions_ are different things! This is the first time that we’re practicing out here in the north building!” She continued to walk forward with me following her not far behind. I had to convince her to stay. She had to stay! “You gotta admit that this place is pretty cool, right? There’s a ton of space, the buildings pretty much shattered and as long as we steer clear from the bear that lives here we’re totally going to be fine!”

“Bear?” She stopped, dropping her hands to the side and facing me once again. “Is that head on your shoulder purely for decoration? You’ve consciously chose this area to work on your magic knowing that there’s a _bear_ roaming around these parts?!”

“Yeah.” I answered. There wasn’t really any problem with working here, I’m sure of that. I’ve been here before anyways. “But it guards the ruins at the back. I’m going to practice my magic here at the front. It’s two different areas. ”

“That still puts us in danger.” She shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

How was she even making me out to be the bad guy here?

“Then go back! You don’t have to stick around!” I told her angrily, stomping my foot.

I wanted her to stay. The reason I wanted her to stay is because it’s only her and Chariot that can teach me properly.  Every spell that they’ve ran through me, I understood and cast much more easily when they’re around guiding me through it.

But she’s decided anyway so there’s no use in trying to get her to stay. Besides, we’re just going to bicker _on and on_ about it and I didn't wanna deal with any of that. Might as well make her go back to her room to catch up on sleep like she wanted while I go on with practicing my magic.

“You’re _staying_?”

“Well, duh.” I groaned. I tried to hide it that I was really frustrated about her leaving. “I gotta practice my magic and there’s nothing to do in the room anyway. You don’t wanna help me and that’s okay _._ I can help myself.”

She looked like she was deep in thought, stroking her chin as she eyed me. I must’ve looked stupid with a pout across my lips and my arms crossed. It was hard to look her in the eye—it was making me more angry.

"...Fine." She didn't sound convincing at all but I lit up, my frown disappearing instantly. “If something happens to you, I’m sure the entire school board will have my head.”

And with that one word, all my angry thoughts vanished. She’s staying! Yeah! “I can’t believe it!” I chimed, clasping my hands together. “Nothing’s going to happen to me now! Now that you’re here, I’m a hundred percent sure that nothing can go wrong!”

“Hardly an occasion to celebrate.”

I didn’t see her but I knew she was shaking her head.

It got me excited, honestly. The north building had this huge clearing up front, giving us enough space to practice magic. It’s also far enough from the main school building for anyone to just walk in on me; if ever there’s an explosion, it won’t be heard—I'm really sure of that. I’ve been here a couple of times to practice on my own accord and currently, it serves as my own secret spot.

And I really loved it here. I thought that maybe, just _maybe_ , she’d love it here too. There’s no other person that’s I’ve shown this area to, not even to Sucy and Lotte.

But she didn’t even looked surprised when we arrived—that got me bummed out.

“So, what is it that you’ll be practicing tonight? Hopefully it will not take long.”

I shook my head. “It’ll be short, I promise, and we’ll be done in a jiff! I have the entire routine—“

“Routine? I’d assume we’ll be focusing on one spell.”

“One spells boring,” I commented. Who’d wanna focus on _one spell_? “Shiny Chariot’s routine is much better than some _boring_ old spell. I have it memorize! I’ve watched her magic show online probably like—a million times! And when I finally get to do my first show, I wanna do that! Like, a tribute to the one person that inspires me the most!”

She seemed more surprised than displeased. “Oh, okay. I admire your persistence.”

“—and it’s perfect. You’ve seen the show too. So, that means you’ll be able to point out my mistakes and tell me if I’m doing something wrong!” I ran over to the middle of the open space in front of the building, gesturing Diana to sit right at the stone somewhere in front of me. “This night’s starting to get exciting!”

Once she's settled, I faced her. I took a deep breath, Diana’s eyes on me.

“Her show starts with her coming in as Alcor, so that’s the first thing I’m doing!”

She nodded her head. I expected her to say something but she remained quiet.

“So, can I start?” I didn’t know why I had to ask. Or why my hand was shaking. Come to think off it, I’ve never performed this in front of anyone. Not Chariot. Not Lotte and Sucy. Not even my Obaa-san. Diana’s going to be my first.

And I felt extremely nervous.

“Go ahead.”

I had to fight it. I didn’t want to fail at my first attempt. And right in front of Diana! No way would I want to embarrass myself in front of her. I had to get over this nervous feeling. 

It should've helped that I pictured myself in Chariot's shoes, envisioning myself performing exactly like her on that stage. In front of a crowd. With a lot of energy under the night sky that was exactly like this.

But it didn't.

My voice broke as I screamed, " _Metamorphie Faciesse!”_ at the top of my lungs. I waited and waited, hopefully something would happen.

But nothing happened. I knew that I was starting to look stupid. Not even a spark from my wand. Not even a light.

“What the—”

I flicked my wand but it didn’t even show any signs that it was going to work. It was broken—how could I have forgotten that it wasn’t working?! I was tapping it furiously on my palm until Diana had her hand around my wrist, making me stop.

“Don’t do that, you’ll destroy it.”

“It’s already whacked out. It’s the reason I’m out here in the first place.” I slammed it again, hoping it would spark or show some sign it was alive. Unfortunately, it didn’t. “Stupid, conked out, dead wand.”

“Allow me?” She  reached out for my wand, taking it from my hand. She twirled it around. I was starting to feel  insecure as her fingers grazed the scratches around it. She took note of this one huge dent on the side, gliding her thumb over it repeatedly before saying, “For someone who’s passionate about magic, you fail to demonstrate any form of care to your equipment. Having a wand in good condition makes casting spells much more consistent.”

“Yeah, I know.” That bothered me, feeling guilty as she pointed it out. “Can’t really take care of things.”

“This,” she turned my wand around, showing me the huge dent on the side. It looked recent. Probably one that I got when I banged it on the table early tonight. “This is what’s disrupting the flow of mana in your wand.”

“Can you fix it for me?”

She shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s impossible. We don’t have the required resources to fully restore it. We could get this fixed at the laboratory first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Can I borrow yours?”

She scoffed. “Absolutely not.”

I pouted at her. She didn’t seem like the selfish type but I didn’t want to press her on it. Then, something zipped through my mind. “Hey, you know that one of our professors don't use wands to cast spells?"

She nodded. “Well, they wouldn’t be our professor if they didn’t. Wandless magic is difficult to perform. It takes more effort to control.”

“You know who I’m talking bout, right?”

“Professor Ricaforte?”

“Yeah!” I sounded too excited. If she could do it then I can! “Can you imagine making magic without a wand? The possibilities are endless!”

“And most definitely life threatening.”

“What about you? Can you do _the thing_?”

She looked like she was taken aback with I just said, her mouth dropping to form a small “o”. “Didn’t you hear me say that this technique isdangerous? Or must I repeat myself?”

“Yeah but there’s nothing dangerous with illumination spells or illusion spells! And metamorphosis magic!”

“You.. are not wrong.” She had a change of mood, smiling a bit as she faced me. “Well, if it intrigues you, easier illumination spells are easier to control. For example...”

In that instant, she waved her hand, chanting a spell I’ve never heard off in the few years I’ve been studying as a witch. It summoned six small, blue orbs, circling around her wrists and her hands. She commanded them, twirling them around, juggling them and I couldn’t help thinking that this was cool. Diana was controlling light magic _without a wand_.

I was star struck with what I was seeing. She was moving the light orbs around her gracefully and accurately, like she had some cool choreography to it.

I couldn’t help notice her smile. She was having fun. It wasn’t _fun_ as in a kid playing in the school yard but I don’t see her smile like that. _Not often_. She’s always so serious, so determined and so dedicated to bringing magic back to its former glory that she’s always _doing_ something about it. It felt so nice to see her enjoy, even if it’s just for a moment.

Seeing her smile like that; it made me smile too.

When she snapped her fingers, the orbs burst like bubbles in thin air.

“That was so cool.” I clapped my hands. _That_ , was really, without a doubt, _awesome._

“Not quite commendable considering that it was a simple illumination spell.” She said nonchalant. “It’s more difficult for spells that require explosive amounts of mana.”

I thought long and hard. It didn’t really occur to me that there would be some spells of that nature that's gonna need a lot of mana. Then, I remembered our first year Samhain Festival. “The unicorn show you put up in first year?”

“Correct.”

“Can you teach me that? That’s really neat and it looked so fun and exciting to perform.”

“I’d highly suggest you focus on something much simpler than that.”

I huffed. I wanted to do something _like that_. Transforming the entire area, changing the environment to set up for that one spell. “But why not?”

“It’s a tedious spell—not one that should be learned from the beginning,” she said. “It took months to perfect, to tell you honestly, I wasn’t expecting to use it for the Samhain Festival. Considering the short notice and the amount of responsibilities that I already had on hand, I opted to use it instead of preparing another tedious trick.”

“That explains a lot.” Now that I thought about it, she's right— _like always_.

“It’s best first that I teach you the basics of wandless magic. You cannot cast spells if you can’t channel mana with your limbs. In this case, we’ll start with your hands.”

Mana? Channeling mana? That sounded boring. I knew how to work a spell. “Why can’t we do what you just did? You did six light orbs and that looks a lot more fun. And it’s simple too so I’d get it right off the bat!”

“Yes. But we have to start with the basics first. You will not be able to cast any spell if you cannot control the energy it takes to perform it.”

I huffed. _Fine._ It would’ve been better if she taught me the illumination spell but she didn’t really seem like she wanted to teach me that. So I let her have her way.

“Hold your hands out like this.”

I imitated her as she dangled her hands loosely in front of her like she was carrying a box.

“Fair warning, Akko. You have to keep your emotions at bay as you do this,” she said sternly. “Now, feel the mana flowing within your veins.”

It was hard for me to understand her at first. I tried to do what she was doing but there’s nothing happening. I checked out her hands, and if you looked close enough, you’ll be able to see these little sparks of glowing, green energy dancing at the tip of her fingertips and the middle of her palms.

Even though she wasn’t performing any spells, it still looked cool.

“How do you get mana to do that?”

“Same technique with a wand. Except,” she faced me, her hands still glowing green. “You have to pay close attention to the mana that’s flowing through you. Too little mana will collapse your spell. Too much would lead to an injury.”

I tried again. _Make the magic go. C’mon make the magic go._

But still, even with all my concentration, nothing happened.

I focused too much on trying to _feel_ mana that I didn’t notice that I’ve closed my eyes. I opened them to see Diana walking towards me then stood at my back. She took my hands without hesitation, holding them to face upward.

“You’re _too tense_. You have to relax.” Her fingers tracing my own, sending this weird, tingling sensation through my arms. I couldn’t understand the heat on my cheeks as she held me like that—it was probably just the weather. “Feel the mana flowing through you naturally. And make sure not to lose control over it.”

So I took her word for it. Focus and feel. But not too much. Just enough to keep it controlled.

There was this brief moment of silence between us. I had to make sure that I had all my attention on my hands. It looked silly at first. I was trying so hard and Diana standing at my back correcting my posture. She had her hands on my shoulder blades as her foot was tapping the back of my heels.

“Keep your feet on the ground, Akko.” She said, breaking my focus.

“I—What?” I was tiptoeing, so I took her advice and corrected my stance.

So I tried again. Focus, focus. _Focus._

Then she spoke, “You’re doing it.” She said. There was this little hint of excitement in her voice.

She was right. I was _doing_ it.

My hands were like hers earlier, filled with those little dancing green sparks on my palms and I couldn’t have been more excited. This was the first step to wandless magic. And _I_ was executing it.

I couldn’t help myself. It was exciting. There was so much I could do with this new technique. Instant spells, bigger illusions and much more brilliant castings. The many things I could do with this technique surged through my mind as I commanded mana right at the tip of my fingers.

Lost in the possibilities of wandless magic, I didn’t notice that my hands were starting to fizzle out. The sparks started to flare, looking like dancing fireworks as it flickered.

“Akko, stop!” Her hands were instantly wrapped around my wrists.

“Ow!” I shut my fist because it was painful. The spark in my hand left a burn mark in the middle of my palms, glowing a bright green before fading into a small, smokey-looking dot.

She took my hand, her fingers running over the small scar that my little blunder did. “This is what I meant. You have to keep your emotions in check most of the time. You cannot afford to lose control else you’ll risk losing an entire hand or arm, considering the spell your casting.”

I nodded, taking my hand from her grasp and shaking it. “Yeah. That was pretty careless. I got excited. I shouldn’t have.”

“Care to try again?” She smiled. “You already know the technique. All you need is a little more practice.”

“Yeah!” This time I wanted to do it without her assisting me.

She stood in front of me, observing me as I attempted to control mana again.

It was there. Tickling at first but there was this electric sensation forming at my fingertips. It slowly inched out to my palms. A few seconds later, my palms were glowing again, those little sparks coming back as I kept my eyes on it.

Trying to calm down as I did this was _really, really hard_. I wanted to jump up and celebrate. But for the sake of keeping _this_ going, I had to stay steady. I had to remain calm.

Concentrating on keeping this for a few minutes was tough. When my head started to hurt, I stopped. Closing my fist to celebrate as I excitedly pumped my right arm into the air.

“I got it!”

“Yes you have,” she said. She’s proud of me, I can tell. And it made me feel like I was floating on air.

“Yeah.” I nodded, yawning right after. “I guess I’m tired. My head's a little knocked too. After all that running around and energy channeling, I think I’m gonna be asleep until the afternoon.” I never knew that doing all that would be taxing, but at least it got me sleepy. “I honestly, never thought that channeling mana could be so… exhausting.”

“It is. But you’ll build up better resistance with constant practice,” she said. "Any plans tomorrow?"

“I’ll be sleeping a good sleep until tomorrow afternoon. I deserve rest!”

“Indeed you do.” She faced me as we walked towards the main building. “Wait, don’t you normally wake up early for training?”

“Oh, Chariot said she’s got somewhere to be and she won’t be back by Sunday. I feel kinda relieved I’m not training tomorrow. It’s getting tougher.” I stopped, then corrected myself. “She’s making it tougher.”

“Well, if anything, your training is doing you well.” She came closer, fixing my collar. “You ran the entire way here from the main building. That’s quite a feat.”

“Really? Thanks! Coming from you, it means a lot!” That made her smile again.

We decided both to call it a night after that. She motioned me to follow her back to the main building. She went ahead first since I had to fasten my wand before catching up to her.

We walked side-by-side in silence. I didn’t know what she was thinking but I was still on a high from what I’ve learned. I’m gonna make sure to perfect wandless magic. I won’t let all of this go to waste.

I’m so happy that Diana doesn’t give up on me. I’ve been in trouble too many times since I started school in Luna Nova, sometimes even dragging her along with me. Most times, it doesn’t end according to my plans but at least it ends with me learning a thing or two. Most of the other witches don’t forget to point out how stupid my dreams are, but Diana isn’t one of them. Despite all she is, she still encourages me to keep going and pushing forward.

“Hey,” I called out to her in the middle of our slow walk back. “Thanks for saving me.”

She looked at me confused, “...saved you from what?”

I was hesitant to say her friends name at first. _Stupid me and my stupid mouth._ I shouldn't have said anything. But I did open it up, and I couldn’t really hide anything from her well. “... _Hannah_ ,” I whispered, hoping she didn’t hear me.

“Hannah is no monster.” She said, correcting me. “I was simply reiterating the policies of the school. This little incident still serves as a warning. Don’t be so complacent about it.”

I didn’t know what hit me back there but Diana saying those words comforted me even though it sounded like I shouldn’t. I guess it was in the way she said it? She’s usually all stiff but this time she sounded more concerned than pissed. I liked it, made me feel fuzzy and warm inside.

I had to show her how I felt so I hugged her, nuzzling my face into her collar bone. “I couldn’t love you enough right now!”

Maybe I caught her off guard because she stiffened under me. But I didn’t care, I hugged her tighter.

“I—it’s nothing,” she mumbled.

“No! Seriously! You got me my homework, visited me in the clinic and you even made me cookies! Teaching me how to do wandless magic—even if you’re tired. And now, you’re letting me off with a warning and I can—”

“Would you like me to retract that warning and give you the proper sanction instead?”

I huffed, letting go of her in disbelief. “What...?” After all that she’s still going to report me? I was shocked, ready to drop right in front of her.

“I _jest_ , Akko.”

I didn’t get her. I wasn’t getting her one bit. I probably looked like a confused dog with my head tilted as I tried to understand her. Was she going to report me? After all that?

“A joke,” she clarified.

“Ooooh…” I guess I offended her because when I tried to stifle my giggling, she crossed her arms. Once I calmed down, she looked like she was examining me, waiting on me to stop laughing with her eyes begging for an explanation. So I said, “I’m sorry, I didn't know you could joke. You looked so serious.”

She sighed. ”What do you take me for? A robot?”

“N-no! No! Oh man, I didn’t mean it like that!” My hands were frantically waving in front of her, hoping that I didn’t insult her. “It’s cause you’re always so… serious. Like, and you don’t joke around too so I really thought you weren’t kidding.”

And it was really hard to know what she was thinking. Being friends with her for years, you’d think it’ll be easy for me to figure what she’s feeling. With the exception of happy and annoyed, she only had one expression for displeased, sad and joking. Right now was no exception.

“Ak...ko?”

If she didn’t call my name, I would’ve kept staring at her.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No. Not really. I’m trying to read what your face is telling me.” I think I made her uncomfortable so I backed away from her.

“O...okay.” Came her reply. She straightened out her uniform before she continued to walk.

We remained silent during the rest of our course. But it wasn’t the usual awkward silence. I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about this moment made me feel comfortable with Diana even though we weren’t talking.

In the middle of it, there was this cold wind that blew past us that sent a chill down my spine. I tried to shake it off. Maybe it was because I was really tired. Just to make sure, I looked back to see if there was anything there, but there wasn't.

Looking over to Diana, she didn’t seem to be bothered by it. So I asked, “Did you feel that?”

As she was about to answer me, there was this feint sound of bells in the air.

We both heard it. The sound of chimes rattling behind us. The sounds were getting louder, the night air was getting colder.

A loud, thunderous thud shook the ground beneath us, stopping us from taking another step forward.

I’ve felt _this_ before.

The hairs at the back of my neck were standing. My body was covered in goosebumps. I look over to Diana and her eyes were wide. She’s feeling this too; this ominous dread that filled the open air and suffocated us. It was getting harder for me to breathe.

We turned backwards to see a humongous creature, the black wolf twice taller than the both of us. That beast was back. And in the light of the moon, I could finally see it’s full form.

A wolf. No, scratch that. A really, colossal wolf-looking monster. Its coat of thick black fur had risen, standing sharply on it’s ends. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any bigger, it pushed its upper body off the floor, standing on its hind legs as it towered over us, casting a shadow that enveloped both me and Diana.

It bared its razor sharp teeth, dribbling saliva. It was snarling, taking another heavy step towards us.

There was only one thought that raced through my mind.

_We’re so dead._

“D-Diana,” There was no stopping the tremble in my voice but I had to ask. “W-What are we going to do?”

At least, I thought, I had Diana with me. Diana always had a plan. She’s a genius. She’s a descendant of one of the Nine Witches! She’s also the most powerful witch to enter Luna Nova _to date_. Even the teachers count on her to carry out some of the more _hard core_ tasks. Her entire country knows her for what she’s worth. She’s strong. She’s smart. She’s dependable.

She’s a force to be reckoned with.

I looked over to her, eager to hear her voice. I needed her to say a plan, say an instruction—she could be bossy for all I care. She had to step up, she had to take the lead.

But she didn’t.

She took a step back and even though I didn’t see her face, I knew she was just as terrified as I was.

“We run.”


End file.
